Megaman X: Final Prologue
by SylentStryke
Summary: Shortly after the first Cyber Elf is created, the Maverick Hunters find themselves losing a war. Can the Hunters rise up and prevent the tyranny of Dr. Weil? Rated M for language, heavy violence and angst. Chapter 13 UP!
1. Prologue: Dark Beginnings

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke  
Rated: M

A/N: Hello to all! Welcome to the third (chronological) installment of my Megaman X fanfiction series! Now, before you start reading this, I highly recommend that you read Paradise Never. It has some vital info on my original characters and important plot points. I was going to wait until Birth of a Demon was finished, but I figure that I might as well get these ideas that are in my head down on paper, lest I forget them. Anyway, in this story I will attempt to establish a link between the X and Zero series. Okay, without further ado, I present to you, Megaman X: Final Prologue!

* * *

**Prologue: Dark Beginnings**

_The year is 21XX. Sigma, the former leader of the Mavericks, is dead. The world was at peace. For a while. The Maverick Hunters had prevented Neo Earth from destruction, be it by Sigma, Paradise Eden, or any other foul organization. Then, Neo Earth was on the verge of becoming restored, with the help of a scientific breakthrough: The Cyber Elf. Raydia Deltion gave way to the creation of this miracle. Cyber Elves have the power to restore even the most decomposed of objects. Great good has come from these tiny beings._

_But..._

Arcadia Outskirts  
Time: 3:05 PM  
Date: 6-11-21XX

Maverick Hunters, humans and Mavericks scrambled all about on the ground. Plasma from mega turrets and explosions decorated the landscape. The quiet ambience of the still air is now filled with the yells and screams of dying, fear-stricken reploids and humans. Rivers ran crimson with the life of the innocent and the wrath of the envious.

Somewhere, in the middle of all this chaos and destruction, a group of wounded Hunters made a beeline to a transport craft. Dodging and strafing yield after yield of ordinance, they hop into the craft. As the medium sized ship levitated into the air, an explosion rocked it, sending one of the Hunters off the edge of the transport to the ground below.

"Stop! Don't leave!" A voice shouted out at the pilot in desperation. "The zone is hot! We gotta get outta here, now!" Another explosion rocked the craft, and another Hunter almost went over the edge. The craft spun around and sped off toward the Maverick Hunter Headquarters (MHHQ). The Hunter in the doorway collapsed to the metal floor in defeat, slamming a fist repeatedly into the ground. "Dammit! ZERO!"

The ride back to MHHQ was quite different than the ride into Arcadia. There was no laughing. No kidding around. No jokes, no good feelings, no plans about what to do after this war is over. Nothing of the sort. Fear, anguish, exhaustion and lifelessness took their places. Megaman X, commander of the 17th Elite unit, sat near the lifeless body of Axl, with Echo at his side. Kicker, lead medic turned field doctor, beckoned for the two of them to leave. Understanding the situation, X left with a protesting Echo. "Errgh! X, let go of me!"

"Echo, calm down! He'll be fine!" The despair-stricken girl stopped shouting, but continued panting heavily as she stared into X's calming green eyes. "Don't worry. Axl's gonna be just fine. He'll make it, I promise," X reassured the worried girl. Sniffling, she began sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

Leyna was curled up in a corner of the hover vehicle, her shoulders heaving at sporadic intervals. Stryke was tying a bandage around Locke's badly gashed thigh, while she bandaged up a styptic over his left eye. X walked into the compartment and took an empty seat. He removed his helmet and let his head drop into his palms.

"(..._what happened? Cyber Elves were supposed to be used for the sake of good. The wars were supposed to be over. No more fighting. No more death. Giga City was a disaster. Nana, Massimo, Cinnamon, Marino...and now...Zero_.)"

X was thinking long and hard about what had happened and what was to come. This new enemy was different. Someone that made X wish that it was Sigma again this time.

"Colonel X! Come to the cockpit, immediately!"

"(..._our enemy is...is_...) Human."

* * *

MHHQ  
Time: 3:12 PM

The hover transport touched down on the helipad as lasers soared overhead. X and company hastily made their way out of the craft before it took off once again. A medical staff was waiting to aid the injured and possibly dead. Axl was loaded up onto an emergency stretcher and warped into the Med Lab. Locke, Stryke and Echo were laid on regular stretchers and wheeled away. Leyna walked lifelessly into the main hub of the building. X also made his way to the building. He stopped short of the door and turned around to see the madness behind him. Explosions and flashes of plasma dotted the battlefield mile away from HQ. He tried to block out the screams as he entered the building.

Speaking of madness, the interior of MHHQ was a nightmare. Dozens of bodies moving to and fro, many of them navigators and strategists. X made his way through the torrent of reploids toward the Dispatch Sector. How anything got done in this place was a mystery to him. When he finally reached the door, the confusion inside was ten times worse. Navigators were screaming coordinates across the room, monitors were flashing brightly, people were dashing about the area. Total chaos. He looked around for a certain reploid.

"X!" A feminine voice called out from his right. Whirling around, X found Alia running toward him. She immediately pulled him into an embrace. "X, what's going on out there? What happened to Giga City? Where's Zero?" Alia pleaded him for answers. X just shook his head. "I don't know Alia. I just don't know..." X felt tears of confusion well up in his eyes.

"X? Are you on base? If you are, please come to my office." Signas said irritably through X's comm link. Sighing inwardly, X let go of Alia. "Alia, come with me."

"Where're you going?" She ask quizzically. "To give Signas my full report. I think you need to hear this."

* * *

Unknown  
Time: 3:04 PM

A lone figure sat in a throne while watching the Maverick Hunters fight against his endless Maverick army. The majority of the Cyber Elves were captured. He only needed a few more to create the energy source needed to power the ultimate reploid. He stood up and walked over to a glass capsule in the wall and smiled sinisterly.

"Hehehehehe...my precious elves. Soon, your worthless lives will have some meaning! Just wait a little longer..."

"Excuse me sir. I have important news." The man folded his arms behind his back, turning his head to acknowledge the insect type reploid. "Speak."

"Sir, we have reports that a Hunter clad in red has been spotted on the battlefield. He appears to be unconscious. What should we-"

"Bring him to me." The dark old man said as he grinned to himself. "As you wish, Lord Weil." Overdrive Mosquito addressed him as he warped out of the room.

"HehehehahahaHAHA! This is perfect! At this rate, he will become even **more **powerful!" Weil exclaimed as he continued laughing maniacally.

**To be continued...**

* * *

And so ends the prologue! What do you think? Help me stay motivated by writing a review. Also! If you have any information about the Elf Wars, Dr. Weil's first name, or any other info about the end of the X series, please let me know via e-mail. Vash06-at-msn-dot-com. And, as always...

Till Next Time!


	2. Chapter 1: The Report pt 1

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke  
Rated: M

Disclaimer: AHH! I forgot a disclaimer on the prologue! I don't own Megaman X or any other Capcom affiliated characters! I own my original characters, though!

A.N. I would like to thank Rouge Hunter for contributing some info on the Elf Wars. Big help, man. Also, add me to your Author Alert/ Favorites. (This applies to everyone.) That's enough of that. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Report pt.1**

MHHQ  
Time: 3:20 PM  
Date: 6-11-21XX

The metallic doors to Signas' personal office slid open quietly. X and Alia both walked into the comfortable looking area; a complete contrast to the disaster outside. The two reploids stood at the edge of the desk opposite Signas. He stood up out his chair to acknowledge them. "Sir." X and Alia both said in unison as they rendered a salute. He was quick to return their salute with one of his own.

"At ease, Hunters." He looked over at X, who looked like he was about to shut down at any given moment. Signas quickly made his way over to his hidden cooler and pulled out an orange, red and silver can. He gave it to Alia while looking at X. "Alia, make sure he drinks this. Can't have him too worn out." Alia nodded, then proceeded to seat X down and give him the energy drink.

>>>

Protests and moments later, X felt more alert as the citrus flavored energy revived his core systems. "Feeling better, Colonel?"

"Sir," X said with affirmation. "Okay, let's start with the trip to Arcadia." X nodded as he cleared his throat and stood up.

"Sigh..."

* * *

_Route to Arcadia  
Time: 1:40 PM  
Date: 6-11-22XX_

_Megaman X looked out of the rear of the transport truck. He never knew why so much dry land that was deprived of any vegetation dominated the area between Arcadia and the MHHQ. His train of thought was broken by a loud holler. "WOO! There's a drop off! Hold on if ya don't wanna fall out!" X heeded this warning not a moment too soon, as the truck suddenly revved up and tilted backwards gradually, followed by the truck quaking violently. This left X on his back, feet hanging out of the doorway._

_"ZERO-" was all X could get out before said crimson hunter appeared in the doorway. "S'not me this time!" The goofy blonde chortled as he pulled back the section of the wall that was hiding the culprit. Leyna flashed X a grin from over her shoulder. X just shook his head. "You've been hanging around him too long, Leyna."_

_"Hey X! What's our objective in Arcadia?" The red-haired, ebony clad hunter known as Axl asked out loud. "I mean, there isn't any sort of Maverick activity, right? Is there another syndicate? You know, like Silph?"_

_"Nope. None of that kind of stuff. In fact, we're heading back to Giga City." X informed anyone who might have been sleeping during the brief. "Oh? What for?" Locke perked up, obviously just waking up. "We're going there to check up on the energen crystal mines and the teleportation satellites. That's why we're driving there."_

_"Energen? That's the new energy source that was discovered not too long ago, right?" Echo stated more than questioned. X nodded. "Once we get to Arcadia, we'll take an air bus to Giga City."_

_"Giga City...lots of...fond memories." Axl said in an almost trance like state. Echo was quick to elbow him in the side. "Ow! What was that for?"_

_"You **know** why I did that! 'Marino, Marino!' does that ring a bell?" The black haired hunter with silver tips scolded her boyfriend. "I, uh...well I didn't...um...who's Marino?" Echo proceeded to yell at Axl some more, while Stryke laughed himself into a fit. X sat back and looked out of the back of the truck as they hit a bump in the road. He recognized the area they were in._

_A few years ago, a catastrophic nightmare was barely adverted. Paradise Eden. A 'Utopia' that would cleanse the Earth and create a sanctuary for reploids. Cleansing the Earth meant killing off all of the humans, and spreading the Maverick Virus worldwide in an attempt to infect every reploid. X had defeated Epsilon, the messenger, and destroyed the Gates of Paradise with the help of Raydia Deltion. In the end, her external body died, but her soul lived on. Shortly after the incident, she disappeared without a trace, leaving X a mysterious message:_

_"'We will meet again, X. Take care until then.'"_

_"Hmm? You say something, X?" Alia's voice filled X's ear._

_"Oh! Yeah, I was thinking about that message she left me..."_

_"'She?' Raydia?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"...you miss her?"_

_"Can't say that I don't. I mean, she helped us out a lot."_

_"Yeah...You don't know where she could have gone?"_

_"Not exactly; she was just an essence."_

_"Hey everyone! We're here!" Leyna informed the crew as the truck slowed to a stop._

_"You're right. Well, good luck with the mission. Alia out."_

_"Thanks." X turned off his comm link and hopped out the back._

>>>

_Arcadia seemed like it should be scarce, with the Orbital Elevators and all, but humans and reploids had populated the city just as they had before the elevators were built. The Orbital Elevators were built sometime after the Red Alert incident as a means for humans who deemed the Earth unsafe to migrate to the moon. But many were brought back down to Earth after the Lumine incident._

_"Wow. It seems like this place gets bigger and bigger each time I see it!" Locke exclaimed with wide eyes. "Yea it does!" The hunters began chit chatting while waiting for the air bus. None of them were in their combat armor, seeing as how this mission didn't involve blowing shit up. When a certain Hunter heard this, he almost didn't tag along. But nonetheless, they brought their armor transits just in case. The bus arrived and the seven Maverick Hunters hopped on._

>>>

_They arrived in Giga City about fifteen minutes later. The Hunters tromped off the automated bus at the docking bay. Stryke and Locke looked over the edge of the docking station in awe. "Wow...so this is Giga City..." While those two were caught up with the sight the city below was giving them, X walked forward into the actual station. That's when he sensed that something was off. Becoming suspicious, he switched his vision to pick up any kind of heat signatures. He checked out the area where the desk clerk usually stands for signs of heat on the floor. He gasped._

_There was heat on the floor where she stood, but leading to the door was a trail of heat, which collaborated into a large mass near the door. Whoever was here didn't leave too long ago. Then a loud roar escaped the sky abruptly, causing the area to shake. The sky grew dark rather quickly. "Hmm? A rainstorm?" Leyna asked no one in particular._

_"No way. The sky got dark all too quickly." Zero answered. X had an idea and ran outside. He looked up and let out a muffled cry. Everyone followed him and looked at the sky._

_A large castle shaped structure eclipsing the sun was flying overhead. A low roar gave an odious ambience to the area. "What the hell is that?" Echo asked out loud. "Looks like...some kind of fortress? Space ship?" A bright blue flash illuminated the area, grabbing everyone's attention. X plopped his helmet down on his head. "Something's amiss here. Suit up, I'll contact HQ." The rest of the Hunters agreed and activated their armor transits while X fruitlessly tried to contact Alia._

_"Hello? Alia, come in. Anyone there? Come in, HQ. Damn..."_

_"What's wrong, X?" Axl inquired. "I think that thing up there is blocking our comm link waves, so I can't contact the base." Zero walked over. "Well, shall we have a look around?"_

_"Let's check the Central Tower." And with that, the seven Hunters dashed off toward their destination._

* * *

_Giga City: Central Tower  
Time: 2:16 PM_

_The door to Central Tower slid open slowly, stopping halfway from being damaged. Axl and Stryke forced the doors all the way open so everyone could get in. The lights in the hallway flickered ominously. The group proceeded cautiously up the winding hallways, with Axl as the point man._

_"...What the hell happened here?" Zero asked while keeping his saber at the ready. "X...you don't think it could be Epsilon again?" X shook his head in dissent. "I don't think he'll be back. I mean, the guy died twice! He's dead for good."_

_"X. **I** died twice. That didn't stop me from comin' back..." Zero reminded him. X was about to argue, but didn't have anything to counter that statement._

_"What the...oh, shit! X! Get up here!" Axl called out from above. Without a second thought, X rushed to the top of the hall. As he went he thought he smelled something...rancid. "(I hope it's not what I think it is...)"_

_"...no..." Was all X managed to choke out as he and the squad of Hunters stared horrified into the room. Blood was strewn all over the walls. Chunks of various reploid parts were scattered aimlessly around the room. Dozens of reploid corpses slumped along the walls and were balled up on the floor. X fell to his knees._

_"Dammit...the Maverick Virus? No, the Mother Elf got rid of it. But..." X thought out loud. Zero looked around, shocked beyond belief. Then something hit him._

_"Hey! If the virus is here, then what about the others!" Everyone looked at him with realization. X was the first to dash through the doors. He was breathing hard. He wasn't sure why, but something filled him with dread, and it wasn't Sigma this time. Someone behind him screamed, causing him to stop abruptly. Looking back, he saw Axl and Echo wrestling with a reploid. Flashes filled the room, signaling that Axl opened fire._

_"X! Go check on Nana and the others! We can handle this!" Echo shouted up the hall. X stood there, confused on what he should do. Axl and Echo were up against what looked like at least fifteen enemies. "X, there's no time! Let's go!" Zero grabbed the cerulean clad hunter by the arm and dashed upstairs behind the others._

>>>

_When they got to the top, Locke activated her RSBs (Rotating Saw Blades) on her wrists and locked them in place. She jumped up and stabbed them in the door, tearing apart the digisteel door as she descended. When she reached the bottom, she withdrew her weapons and gave the doors a thrust kick, knocking them down. The five Hunters rushed into the room and gasped._

_The command center was dim. The sound of circuits shorting out filled the room. Muffled cries of pain and fear filled their ears. There, a large figure was on the ground, being impaled repeatedly with a beam knife by another figure. Blood flew into the air, staining the ground around them. Then it looked up at the Hunters in the doorway and spoke._

_"Ugh...X...Zero? No! ...get out of here! You can't...kill...AAHHGUGHghgg..." Massimo started but was cut off by a beam knife ripping into his throat, cauterizing his flesh and sending a spray of blood all over the reploid that killed him._

_"MASSIMO!" X screamed out, catching the attention of the reploid standing over Massimo's corpse. Zero was enraged. "Can't kill, huh? The hell I can!" Zero dashed forward and tackled the reploid to the ground._

_"Stryke and Locke, you two guard the doorway. Leyna, you come with me." X issued out, his voice tinged with emotion. They nodded and assumed their positions. X and Leyna ran into the room were Zero was struggling with the reploid. Leyna ran down the stairs to next to the giant wall monitor. X checked on Massimo. "...dead..." He then headed downstairs with Leyna. "...Nana!"_

_Nana was sitting on the floor, pressed up against the wall, terrified beyond words. He noticed a pool of blood under her left...wait. She was missing an arm! X walked briskly over to her. "X, she won't speak. I think she's in shock. Looks like her arm was severed by a beam weapon."_

_"Nana...can you hear me? It's X." X spoke softly, trying to reach the pink haired navigator. Her eyes showed a bit of life as she slowly looked over at the man that was speaking to her. She opened her mouth, trying to speak._

_"...X? It's...you. Please...help...us." She spoke before she started gasping for air rapidly. "Nana? What happened? Who did this?" X said, catching the girl as she slumped forward. Leyna was listening intently with her hands over her mouth. Battle cries could be heard from above. Nana started shaking, sobbing while she did so. X held her by the shoulders, trying to be careful not to jar her arm. "...it's not her fault...it's not...she's under mind control...it's not...her fault..." Nana repeated, her voice quivering. X had a pit in his stomach. "Mind control? Who's under mind control?" He tried asking her._

_A loud sound erupted from above, followed by a scream of pain. A figure slammed into the screen, shattering it and sending down shards of digiglass. X shielded Nana from the rain of glass. A large thud hit the ground, followed by a low growl. Leyna nearly screamed._

_"Damn it! Ahh!" Zero expressed as he pulled out a beam knife from his chest. He coughed up a large amount of blood as he stood up. His armor had hairline cracks all over. "X...I'll handle this." Zero spoke while carefully scanning the area he was thrown from. X and Leyna looked at him mysteriously. Footsteps grew louder as the enemy above them approached the ledge. The figure leaped down toward Zero and let out cry. X widened his eyes at recognition of the voice. Zero pulled out his saber and threw it at his assailant. The battle cry from the reploid turned into a cry of pain as the saber pierced through its chest. Zero carefully caught the reploid in his arms, avoiding the beam jutting out from its back. He pulled the saber out and deactivated the blade. Letting it drop to the floor, he pulled the corpse of his attacker to his body. Leyna gasped as she finally figured out who it was. The corpse started to speak._

_"...I'm...s-sorry...Nana...Zero...-cough-...everyone..." Cinnamon's breathing slowed down dramatically, then stopped all together. Zero set the young reploid's body down on the floor gently. Leyna was speechless. X was holding back tears as Nana let hers flow freely. Zero stood up slowly.He looked down at the lifeless body of Cinnamon and felt a wave of anger rush over his body. He swore under his breath as he slammed his fist into the wall._

_"... ... ... ... ...we have to get out of here." Zero said with a disturbed tone. X, Leyna and Nana slowly agreed. They made their way to the stairs when they heard a pair of screams. Then, a maniacal laugh was heard._

**To be continued...**

* * *

Whew! What a chapter! It's supposed to be longer, but I don't think you guys need to wait for too long. The second part of this chapter will be coming up soon. So, stay tuned and, as always... 

Till Next Time!


	3. Chapter 2: The Report pt 2

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: Don't own Capcom. Literally. I don't own them. THEY own Megaman X and other affiliated characters. I own my original crew.

**Chapter 2: The Report pt.2**

_Giga City: Central Tower  
Time: 2:36 PM  
Date: 6-11-22XX_

_Zero, X and Leyna all looked at each other as the room above them was filled with a horrifyingly familiar cackle. The same screams filled the room once again. X let Nana sit against the wall before he took off upstairs, Zero and Leyna hot on his heels. About halfway up the stairs, Zero stopped abruptly and doubled over._

_"Zero! Are you okay?" Leyna asked the pained reploid. He righted himself and gave her a nod of affirmation. She returned his nod and continued upstairs. She had to duck in order to avoid becoming a pincushion. Dozens of kunai and shuriken were impaled in the wall next to her. Looking up, she saw X, Locke and Stryke locking horns with another reploid._

_X was thrown back into Leyna like a baseball, leaving Stryke and Locke to battle the reploid. Stryke and Locke attacked the lightning quick reploid with ferocity. Stryke lunged forward with his short sword, slicing into thin air. Locke was blown out of the door, grunting all the way. There was an odd silence._

_"Hah...hah...haah...Locke? You alright?" The cinnamon haired Hunter walked back into the room, holding her leg._

_"Yeah. I'll manage." She said through a weak smile. She stepped into the air after Marino kicked her feet out from under her. Locke hit the ground with a thud and cried out in pain. The crazed Marino drove a heel into her chest, effectively pinning her to the ground._

_"Ma-ri-no! Get offa me! AHH!" Locke screamed as a razor sharp blade pierced through her thigh into the floor. She struggled to move, but stopped as the knife began to tear into her leg even more. Marino grinned a hellish grin as she drew out her beam knife and drew back, ready to behead Locke. She swung. Locke closed her eyes and screamed._

_>>>_

_Locke felt something wet splash onto her face. It was warm. She could feel? So, she lived..._

_Opening her eyes, she saw Stryke kneeling over her, blood covering most of his face, along with Marino in the wall opposite the room. He looked down at her and smiled weakly. "Ha ha. Sorry about the mess." She smiled and shifted her body weight, causing her to yell out._

_"The knife...it's still in my leg. I can't move." Stryke looked over to where she was pointing and found the object. He looked at her, asking her for consent with his expression. She nodded and held her breath. Stryke grabbed hold of the hilt and prepared to remove it quickly. A shadow appeared behind him and tackled him to the ground. He pulled the knife out of Locke, causing her to stifle a yelp._

_Marino loomed over him with an evil presence. Stryke saw her as a blurry figure, due to his left eye being damaged. She appeared to draw something out from her back._

_"Ehh...Marino...stop..." Stryke tried to reach out to the crazed reploid. She returned his plea with a sinful grin. Bringing her knife over her head, she opened herself up for an attack. A green blade stabbed through her midsection, making her drop the knife. She began twitching from the pain. Suddenly, X appeared on the side of her, arm cannon fully charged and aimed at her head. "Now, Zero!" X shouted as he pulled the trigger. Zero deactivated his saber and hopped backwards._

_"X...I'm sorry it had to end this...way..." Marino whispered out moments before she was engulfed in extreme heat. X felt sick as he thought about what Marino just said, combined with what Cinnamon said earlier about mind control. The room grew quiet. All that remained of Marino was the lower half of her torso and legs._

_"They...aren't Mavericks..." Leyna whispered out. Zero placed his saber back into place. He walked towards the door, making a notion for the others to follow him. Leyna gave Stryke a hand with Locke, as X went to help Nana. Looking back, X blinked away a tear, wishing his friends peace in their death._

_>>>_

_As the battered reploids made their way through the noise filled hallway, a loud battle cry filled the room below, followed by a lengthy flash of violet light. Then, silence._

_"Oh, god...AXL!"_

_The group sped up, running into the room below. The entire room reeked of blood and fried circuitry. Smoldering chunks of metal dented the wall, with Echo and Axl in the far corner. X and company made their way to the corner._

_"X! It's Axl! He...he...blew up!" Echo babbled out. X gave her a confused look, seeing as how Axl was in one piece._

_"Echo, you're hold-"_

_"That's not what I mean! He started to glow with a weird light, then exploded! We have to help him!" X shook his head._

_"We have to get out of here first. Nana, is the air bus still functional?"_

_"... ...no. It's been shot down!" X swore under his breath. Nana gasped in realization. "Wait a minute... ... ... okay! There's a maintenance submarine at the bottom of the tower. It has a seating capacity of... ... ... eight bodies." Zero smirked. "Well then...shall we go?" Right on cue, the entire tower rocked violently, sending the team of Hunters to the ground._

_"That sounded like one of the support columns! We have to hurry!" Nana said as the group regained their footing. They rushed down the hall to the sub._

_>>>_

_When they got to the bottom of the tower, a familiar sight surrounded them: dozens of dead corpses and blood-stained walls. They continued walking toward the sub room, trying their best to ignore the stench._

_"...never actually been down here. Kinda spooky." Nana murmured out. Zero merely scoffed at the comment. "Eh, besides all the bodies and blood, it's not so bad." He grinned at Nana, who was confused by his statement at the moment._

_"We're here." Leyna informed anyone who wasn't paying attention. They all spotted the sub, which was docked at the station. The submarine was wide, brightly orange, and looked spacious. The bubbled top hissed open, giving them access. "All right! We're outta here!" Locke exclaimed._

_"We're not outta the woods yet. We have to hustle back to HQ to heal up and report on what happened. Giga City is huge. If the reploids here can almost all be controlled, then that means Arcadia and the rest of Neo Earth is in danger..." X summed up while they entered the sub. He glanced at the numerous corpses lying around._

_"(But, those corpses don't look like they died from any type of bullets or plasma. Some of them have been cleaved in half. Cleanly, too...)" X shook his head, as it was his turn to hop aboard the sub. After stepping on, he extended a hand to Nana. She nodded and leaned forward to grab his gloved hand. The world around her flashed, then grew blue as she felt something cold slide through her back. The pain was sluggish, but definitely there. Her arm dropped involuntarily, but she tried her hardest to reach out to X, who was screaming. She couldn't hear his voice. She looked down at the blade jutting out from her abdomen, which extended two prongs on each side. It began to pulled her back. She continued to reach out to X, who began charging his buster._

_Suddenly, the blade exited her body, spinning her around. She looked blankly into the eyes of the man of shadows. His cold, lifeless stare, the blank expression on his face. "... ...Scar... ..." That's all that escaped her lips before everything went black. Scar brought his blade across her body, dividing it cleanly into half. The submarine was splashed with blood before it slowly lowered into the water. Zero caught a glimpse of the reploid that killed Nana._

_"...you gotta be shittin' me...Scar..." He looked over at X who was still in a mild state of shock along with the other Hunters._

_"Listen up! I know we've all been through a lot, but we're not out of the woods yet!" Zero spoke, looking back at Scar, who was already gone. "(Scar...I thought you had changed...)"_

* * *

_Arcadia: City Limits  
Time: 2:57 PM_

_"Alright, Hunters, in the truck, and we're heading back to the base." X commanded, fighting back the emotions running through his veins. They agreed without expression. Everyone was depressed, having just seen some of their closest friends die, even having to take their lives. The sub docked at the loading station and the Hunters quickly disembarked the aquatic vessel. They hopped on their transport truck and proceeded out of the city. X took the small moment of time they had to observe the condition of his team._

_"(Locke has a deep gash in her leg, Stryke's eye has been cut up, Echo has a few bruises, Axl's unconscious, Leyna and Zero look fine. And I have a headache.)"_

_The sound of plasma turrets discharging and kinetic explosions fill the area, muffling the hum of the transport truck. X looked outside the truck, seeing the giant structure that flew over Giga City hovering over Arcadia._

_"...what in the hell is that?"_

_"X! Come here!" Leyna yelled from the driver's seat. X hurried up to the front. Leyna turned up the radio to an audible volume._

_'...situation in Arcadia is worsening with each passing second! Both reploid and human alike are being absolutely annihilated! Explosions rock the land, people everywhere are dying! This could be the... ...I have just received breaking news! The leader behind this large conflict happens to be Dr. Weil!'_

_X gasped at this. Leyna looked up at him quizzically. His eyes looked horrified._

_"X? What's wrong?"_

_"INCOMING ROCKET!" A voice shouted from the back. There was a brief moment of silence before the truck shook violently and began to twist rapidly._

_"Hold on!" X couldn't tell who shouted that out; the voice was warped from the speed the truck was spinning. Almost as soon as the spinning began, it stopped abruptly, sending everyone to the ceiling of the truck._

_"...ugh...is everyone okay!" X gasped out, glancing over his comrades. "Heh, we're...all...here..." A muffled voice replied. The Hunters climbed off of each other, revealing Zero on the bottom of the pile._

_"The doors are broken!" Leyna yelled out. "I got it!" Locke activated her right RSB and dug it into the side of the truck. She kicked the large piece of metal out door, forgetting that she had a gash in her leg. While she stifled a holler, the Hunters carefully clambered out of the ruined truck._

_>>>_

_The Hunters ran as fast as they could across the dry land, praying in Light's name that plasma beams would not find them. No beams struck them, but a shockwave from an explosion rocked the ground beneath them. Zero fell backward and let out a small yelp of pain. He got up slowly, his chest heaving. The other Hunters began loading up on the hover transport. Zero began sprinting, ignoring the numerous alarms screaming at him in his head. Leaping for the transport, he just barely grabbed the side handles. Struggling to pull himself up, he felt something click._

_"Oh no..." His vision froze as his critical systems shut down. The last image he saw was Leyna reaching out to him. The sound of her voice calling out his name kept repeating. He only hoped that his sense of feeling would turn off before he hit the ground. He wasn't so lucky._

* * *

"... ... and that's the entire report..." X ended his explanation of the previous events. Alia had her hand over her mouth, trying to absorb the shock from the report.

"...there's no survivors in Giga City?"

"No sir. If there are any, I'm pretty sure that they are under the mind control of this Dr. Weil." X replied. Signas crossed his hands in front of him and set his chin on them.

"Is it true? That this Weil guy is...human?" Alia asked. X shook his head.

"That's what the rumors say. I'm hoping that they aren't true. How are we supposed to fight an enemy like that?" X said hopelessly. Signas shook his head.

"So...Zero is MIA?" He stated in the form of a question after a brief moment. X clenched a fist.

"Signas, we have to find him!"

"Yes, X. We will eventually find him, but first, you and your team need to rest up." X cocked an eyebrow.

"Rest? I can't rest! Not with things the way they are right now! I'm going to go look for him..." X spun around and headed for the door when Alia jumped in front of him.

"X, don't be stupid!" She shouted. X was taken aback, not expecting Alia to lash out like that. "If you go out there in the condition you're in, you'll be killed! Then what are we supposed to do, huh? What am **I** supposed to do?" X looked her in the eyes. They were filled with anger, sadness, and worry. And pain.

"...Alia..."

* * *

Arcadia  
Time: 5:12 PM

Zero slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the area with painstaking difficulty. He moved his arms about, soon finding out that he was suspended in a liquid-like substance in some sort of container. He felt sluggish. He must have been out for a while. His movement functions and vision were the only two systems operating at the moment. He saw a blurry figure move closer to the tank, stop to peer into it and walk away. Moments later he felt his body stiffen up as an electric current surged throughout the tank, shutting him down once again.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Sorry again that it took so long to get this chapter out. I've been really super busy. Next chapter will be out sometime between now, this very second, or later on this millennium. (Laughs) Kidding, kidding! Hmm...anyway! Stay tuned...

Till Next Time!


	4. Chapter 3: Check

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: (Please insert statement stating the reserved rights of companies, organizations or individuals that are affiliated with the original characters of this work of fanfiction. This excludes the addition of original characters that the author has created.)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Check**

MHHQ- 17th Quarters  
Time: 4:43 A.M.  
Date: 6-12-22XX

X lay awake in his bed. He found sleep hard to come by on a regular basis, but now... Things were escalating to a catastrophic level. He placed a hand on his brow, sighing in hopes of easing his mind, which was rattled with unwanted memories.

"(_Nana...I couldn't save you...or anyone else. Something's happened to Axl, Zero's gone...the humans...damn it..._)" He rolled over, deciding that a different position might be better. The image of Nana being severed into two flashed in his head. Massimo being eviscerated, a crazed Marino, dying Cinnamon...

"_I told you, didn't I X?_" X nearly jumped out of his bed at the sound of the familiar voice. He spied his quarters for the source of the deep voice.

"_I told you, X. I tried to prevent this, I really did._" X turned around to see Apus Epsilon, garbed in eerie black robes. His figure glowed with a supernatural aura.

"_I told you that it was either Paradise Eden or the destruction of everything, and look at what's happening now._" X clenched his teeth, not knowing how to retaliate. He sensed another figure creep up on him.

"_Hehehehe! X, you are a fool. Did you really think that you would win? Did you think that because I died, the world would find peace? Well?_"

"...Sigma..."

"_The humans are the venom that poison this world. Do you see now? The Earth is about to be destroyed by the hands of a human! Ain't it ironic?_" Vile jumped up through the floor. X stood with a ridged stance.

"_We never wanted to destroy Earth; we only tried to prevent the current events from happening._"

"...shut up..."

"_But you insisted on being the catalyst. You ALWAYS found a way to halt us._"

"...Shut...up..."

"_Now that you see the errors you've made in the years past, you wish you could fix your mistakes don't you? Now you and everyone you hold dear to you will die!_"

"SHUT UP!" X shouted, causing the ghastly images of Sigma, Vile and Epsilon to shatter. X took in deep breaths, shaking off his current thoughts. He slowly sat down on his bed, trying to calm down. His nerves jumped when a pair of arms pulled him down tight against the bed. He looked over his shoulder to see Alia holding him in a death-lock.

"Mmm. X, do you like the way I'm holding you? Do you feel the warmth between us?" Her voice was very sultry. He noticed she wasn't wearing anything when he felt a pair of soft spheres with hardened tips press into his back.

"Alia...wh-what are you doing?" X barely got the words out as she pulled him closer. Her breathing became heavier.

"Oh, X. That feels so goood!" X was confused. He could easily overpower Alia, but he couldn't move an inch. Not a muscle. Next, he saw Axl pinned to the wall with what appeared to be short blades. In front of that, he saw Zero fighting...X?

"What the hell?" Zero took a wild slash at the other X, who in turn unleashed a full charged plasma wave into Zero's chest, destroying his arms and lower body. He caught the remainder of Zero's body and held it up in front the Alia ensnared. He crushed the corpse of Zero and threw his head into the wall.

"I am no m-mere copy-y! I am the perfect copy! Better than t-t-the original!" The X with red eyes shouted whiling he laughed manically. Suddenly, a green light burst from the 'perfect copy's' chest, spraying blood onto X and Alia, who at the moment was panting heavily. X looked at Alia who was suddenly on top of him, sweating and bare. She sat down on top of him and leant over forward, her chest heaving and pressing into his. He still couldn't move. Looking over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Zero, red-eyed and snarling.

"...this has to be a dream!" X concluded as he felt Alia tense up and let loose an ear-shattering scream of pain. X felt a burning sensation in his chest as the beam saber Alia was run through with pierced his lungs. Zero invaded his thoughts.

"I aM thE OriGINAL! I wiLl deStroy EVERYTHING!" The devilish Zero shouted as he charged up his buster and aimed for X's head. Blood was everywhere, Alia lay on top of him whimpering, Sigma was taunting him, Zero pulled the trigger. X screamed.

Hesat up fiercely in his bed, his face covered with sweat. "I was dreaming?" He hastily put a hand to his chest, checking to see if he really was just dreaming. Relieved that he had no infliction, X climbed out of his bed and turned the light on.

"No...That was more like a nightmare." He pulled on a pair of blue sweatpants and clasped the straps on his sneakers down. He wouldn't sleep for a while after that episode, so he decided to walk around for a while.

>>>

Despite being early in the morning (or late at night, depending on how you look at it), the building was still in a constant uproar. "(_But that's to be expected..._)" He waited for the herd of intel operators and navigators to pass before he crossed to the other side of the hall. He decided he would visit the medical lab, to check up on the team that went with him to Giga City.

As he went walking down the hall, he met up with members of the 14th Grapple Unit before they made their way to the warp sector. The 14th was and outstanding unit, containing at least two-hundred bulky reploids. Needless to say, they were heading for the frontline.

When X made his way to the waiting room of the med lab, he walked absent-mindedly past Dot, the desk nurse. Any other reploid would get their ass chewed for barging in uninvited, if not by Dot then by Kicker Yamito, the lead medic in HQ. X made his way to the O.R., deciding to check up on Axl.

>>>

Axl lay on a table with a pulse monitor adhered to his chest, neck and wrists. Kicker was studying the monitor, watching carefully for any sudden changes. Echo was slumped over snoozing in a chair next to Axl. She hadn't even gotten out of her armor. X cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Oh, X. What's up?" Kicker asked concernedly. X shook his head as he leant up against a wall near the door.

"Just came to check up on Axl and the others. How is he?"

"His status is still normal. He's unconscious, but alive." Kicker thought about this scenario. "X, why are you up at 4:50 in the morning? Shouldn't you be resting up?" X sighed heavily.

"I can't rest. Not with things the way they are. It already gave me one hell of a nightmare." Kicker raised an eyebrow. "Please don't ask me about it; I couldn't tell you what went on," X quickly added, dismissing any question Kicker was about to ask him.

"Fine. I'll take your word on it." Kicker said as he stretched out his arms.

"Where're Stryke and the others?" X asked, realizing that he had other friends.

"In recovery room seven." Kicker said almost trance-like. X gave him a wave as he walked out of the O.R. Coming to the room the others were in, X gave the door a soft rap.

"Come in." A soft voice answered. Upon entering, X saw that the others were more damaged than he imagined. Locke's entire leg was wrapped up in bandages. Her right arm was in a sling. Stryke was sleeping, but it looked like his left eye was bandaged up, as well as most of his head. Leyna was sleeping with her knees pulled up to her chest, facing the wall. She didn't seem to have any physical injuries, but there was no doubt that she would be deeply hurt emotionally.

"Hey there, X." Locke said as X looked at each of them individually. He grabbed a seat from the corner of the room and sat down. He gave her a weak smile.

"Hey yourself. How're you doing?" X chided himself silently, knowing that they were feeling like crap.

"Well, I feel like crap. What about you? What's keeping you up at this hour?" X frowned as she asked.

"Let's just say this entire thing gave me a nightmare. I probably won't sleep until this whole thing is over. Besides, I felt like I needed to check up on you guys," he said with a low tone. Locke couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, you big lug! You're so sweet! We'll be fine by tomorrow." X slumped in his chair, hanging his head.

"...but I pulled all of you into this mess. It's entirely my f-" X started when Locke waved a finger with her good arm.

"No, X. Don't even start with the whole 'I'm the one to blame' act. You couldn't have known about anything! This is...fate." Locke said, unsure about the last word that escaped her mouth. X lowered his head.

"I know. I just...I just feel so responsible." Locke let out a large sigh.

"X, don't make me call Alia." X gulped, not wanting to hear the usual speech Alia gave him at the start of every war.

"... ...okay." X said in submission. He was about to get up and explore the rest of the base when Locke called out for him to wait. He turned around to see a worried look on her face. She beckoned for him to come closer. He did so and leant down closer to her.

"_Do you think Zero's still alive?_" Locke whispered in a low tone. X wore a face of discouragement.

"_I...I don't know. Though he's come back from the dead before...I feel something odd about it this time..._" X said, his voice full of hopelessness. Both X and Locke stopped talking when a sound was heard. Suspicious that someone might be listening in, X decided to leave Locke to her rest. Upon the lights shutting off and the sound of the door closing, Leyna began to weep softly.

* * *

Arcadia  
Time: 5:06 A.M. 

Overdrive Mosquito stared dubiously at the large, incomplete...thing. He watched as the team of mind controlled reploids worked assiduously on the large metal object. "Hmmph," he grunted as he walked around the large room, looking for some sort of entertainment. He had been a Maverick not long ago. A Maverick he was no more, but he still despised the thought of working for a human. Working for anyone, as a matter of fact. He clenched his fist and punched at the air, listening to the whoosh of the air as it was disrupted suddenly.

"How mad. Swatting at flies again, O.D.?" A deep gravelly voice erupted suddenly. Overdrive turned around quickly, with help from his insect-like wings.

"Why do you bother me, _mutt_?" He spoke in a vexed voice to Inferno Surebrec. The large, canine reploid bared his teeth and sneered.

"No need for names, O.D. I'm just trying to figure out why you, of all people, would swat at your winged cousins?" Surebrec said, letting his slight Aussie accent taunt the smaller reploid.

"Watch it. I may not be a Maverick anymore, but that sure as hell won't stop me from ripping out your teeth!"

"Settle down, you two. Heh, you argue like you're married!" A feminine voice called out, disrupting the dispute between the large Doberman and mosquito. She stood with a hand on her hip, chuckling under her breath. Mosquito narrowed his already beady eyes.

"And you are?"

"...your team all-star, of course." She winked at the two reploids as they stared in disbelief. Overdrive decided that he had had his fill of nonsense for the day, early as it was, and tromped off, muttering more than audible curses. Surebrec on the other hand scowled and walked dangerously close to the woman.

"Well, aren't you the catch of the day?" He said in a clear, low tone. He dropped down to all fours and walked around the girl, inspecting her thoroughly. "I like what I see. Got a lotta spunk, hehe. This is going to be a _fun_ war."

"Watch your tongue, Fido." An unfamiliar voice echoed in his ear. Surebrec turned his head and snapped at the intruder only his clench his mouth and reel back in pain a second later.

"Did you think I wasn't literal?" The new reploid said as he re-sheathed his black katana after wiping the saliva off of the blade. After his teeth stopped screaming at him and he could form actual words, Surebrec stood up.

"...Who the **hell** are you?" He said carefully as his teeth were still tender. The man pointed a finger at the canine.

"You don't need to know my name. Just know that I'm the one giving your worthless ass orders." The man said coolly. Surebrec growled and pulled his black lips back, revealing his razor sharp teeth in an attempt to intimidate the sword wielding reploid. The man simply scoffed and knelt down. "Puppy wanna go for a walk? Let's go boy, c'mon." Surebrec suddenly lunged for his would-be victim. As he brought a heavy paw down, he thought he had attacked a digisteel wall. The swordsman held the massive dog's paw above his own head with the blunt side of his blade in one hand. With his free hand, he punched Surebrec in his chest, sending the large reploid sliding back a few feet. He whimpered as he did so, signaling that he was indeed hurt. The man walked over to the pain-stricken reploid.

"I am the controller. You are the pawn. You listen to me without challenge, or I **will** kill you. You got that, _mutt_?" He whispered in a promising tone. Not daring to even look him in the eye, Surebrec simply nodded his head. The man smirked. "Good boy. Now leave." The now obedient canine reploid walked briskly but carefully to the nearest elevator. The man now turned back to the female.

"Scar. That was hardly necessary." He raisedan eyebrow.

"Sorry bout that, Rayne. But he was begging for it." Rayne shook her head.

"I could've done that by myself." He laughed. But his brief moment of joy disrupted by the thought of their current situation.

"We're living through it again, Scar."

"I know. But, we don't have a choice."

**To be continued...**

* * *

OK! Chapter completed. Some darker stuff in this chapter, and more to come in the next chapters. Thanksgiving was a blast! Be on the lookout for a new X-mas fic! (Starring the cast of MMX, of course) This has been SylentStryke reporting. As always... 

Till Next Time!


	5. Chapter 4: Adaptation

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: X is owned by Capcom. So are Zero, and all the other characters Capcom has made.

A/N: I realized that I goofed up the dates on some of the earlier chapters. The year is **21XX**. Sorry for any confusion that might have caused.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Adaptation**

MMHQ- Main Hall  
Time: 11:18 A.M.  
Date: 6-16-21XX

Days later, the war between the Maverick Hunters and the 'NT Mavericks', NT standing for New Type, was at a standstill. Though the Hunters could not break through their lines, they at least kept the horns locked in place. Zero's been MIA for close to a week. Axl's still out of it, but otherwise okay. The death tolls for both sides of the conflict are becoming greater each day.

"And in other news, the NT war has not let up since it started five days ago." A newscaster said with a pathetic tone of voice. Stryke tore himself away from dull newscast to waltz around the base. Shoving his hands in his jean pockets, he rounded a corner, stumbling over it in the process. He decided he would kill some time at the target range, so he went in that general direction.

As he made his way past the numerous reploids crowding the halls like a clogged artery, he managed to hear a few comments mentioning his name. Though he paid them no mind physically, he mouthed back snide replies mentally. It was when he collided with another reploid that he learned to pay attention to what was in front of him rather than the words behind him. After reaching the target range, he placed his hand in the scanner then took his custom rifle out of the rack. He picked up a pack of paint ammo and headed over toward the bulls-eye targets.

"Hey, stranger." A voice suddenly called out. Out of pure instinct, Stryke whirled around and pointed the rifle at Locke's head. Or maybe it was shock that made him turn. Whatever the case, he dropped his aim with a slightly exasperated sigh. "Whoa, good thing it's not loaded." She smiled sheepishly. Stryke gave her a weak smile in return.

"With the way I'm maimed, it wouldn't matter if it was loaded." He said, pointing to his left eye which was scarred and closed.

"Don't say that! Stryke, you're the best marksman here next to X. C'mon, let's do some target shooting." She said trying to raise his spirits. She ran to the opposite side of the range, intending to pull his targets. Reluctantly, Stryke loaded the paint pellet magazine into his rifle.

"Ready?" Locke shouted out. He stepped on the button on the ground, signaling for her to pull the first target.

The target flew down the tracks from the ceiling and stopped abruptly. Stryke placed the rifle in his shoulder and peered through the sights. He pulled the trigger lightly, sending a round down to kill the target. A holo-monitor materialized with his score on it. "(Bulls-eye.)" He stepped on the button again, repeating the process of shooting the targets several times.

After he emptied the first magazine, he called Locke back from the target end. She looked at the print out of his scores and patted him on the back.

"Ya see? You're still an ace shot." He sighed. It wasn't enough to convince him that he was just fine. Not yet.

"Locke," He started, pausing for a brief moment, "grab a rifle." She looked perplexed. "Sure I can shoot bulls on stationary targets, but moving..." Locke filled in the rest of his sentence and grabbed a spare rifle, as well as a padded vest. Stryke grabbed a vest as well.

"Stryke, you know as well as I do that I suck with rifles." She reminded him. He shook his head, dismissing any negative thoughts she had.

"Just do your best."

* * *

Stryke's head was a jumbled mess. This would be the ultimate test for him. Whether he could hit a moving target or not would determine if he could still fight. He sat behind a rock waiting for Locke to make a move. Voices ran through his head as he searched the grounds ahead of him. Movement.

He stood up and shot a few bullets at her. Now there was silence. "...Did I miss?" He whispered to himself. He squinted at where he shot, attempting to focus on Locke. If she was still there...

The air behind him warbled with distortion as paint bullets flew dangerously close behind him. "Dammit!" He cursed as he dove behind the rock. "(_How did she sneak up on me that fast?_)" He peered around the corner, secretly eying her as she walked dumbly into the open. "Here goes nothin'!"

He waited for her to get a little bit closer, until she was about thirty feet away, then he rolled away from the rock, aiming his rifle at Locke, who jumped and froze from shock. He concentrated on his aim. Once the sights were over her heart, he pulled the trigger. He felt a sting on his own chest as he fell backwards. He lay on his back, sprawled out on the artificial grass. He rubbed the wet spot on his chest before inspecting it. Blue paint. He sighed exasperatedly.

"Stryke! Are you okay?" Locke called out as she ran up to him. He sat up slowly, disappointed that he would be dead were it a real battle.

"Locke. Did you get hit?" He asked, his voice lifeless as if he already knew the answer. He looked up at her before she could answer. Nothing on her _at all_; she was clean. He saw something over her shoulder on a rock. It was bright yellow paint.

"...No. You missed me by...a lot." She said slowly, trying not to sound too negative. He put a hand over his face.

"What about the sound I heard earlier? By the bushes?" He asked as he pointed toward where he thought he heard the rustling. She slowly shook her head, pointing in a spot that was at least forty feet away from the bushes. "I was over there, the entire time."

He stood up and sat down against his rock. Locke followed him. "Stryke...It's okay." She said, trying to console him. He saw a stone on the ground next to his leg. He grabbed it and began tossing it into air and catching it. With his depth perception the way it was, he wasn't surprised when it seemed to slip right through his fingers. He drilled his fists into the rock with robust anger.

"Arrgh! Son of a BITCH!" He continued punching the rock while Locke watched in pain. It wasn't until after his hands were well beyond bruised and bloody that she decided to stop him from his fit.

"Stryke, stop it, please!" She cried out. She held onto him from behind the best she could. He slowed down after a while, breathing hard and heavy. "It's gonna be okay. Everything's going to be fine..."

"No, it's not gonna be okay! I have one good eye, I can't even fire a damn rifle...I'm fuckin' useless! Useless..." He hung his head, the emotions overwhelming him. Locke turned him around and hugged him tightly. He sobbed into her shoulder, feeling helpless. It pained Locke to see him like this. He had lost all hope. His duty was stolen away from him. She felt a stinging in her own eyes. The doors to the range closed as someone walked out.

* * *

Arcadia- Inner Core  
Time: 2:02 P.M.

Scar walked through the massive holding pen with a foul sense about him. He once again found himself lost in questions. Why was he here? Who had he become? Why did he drag Rayne into a mess _again_?

"Ugh. I'm startin' to sound like Raydia." He said with a non-humorous chuckle. He stopped when he came face to face with a sleeping Zero floating in a tube. He wondered... "(_Just why did Weil capture Zero anyway? He poses a far greater threat alive than he would were he dead. He could 'wake up' at any given time. That wouldn't be good_.)" He was so immersed in his thoughts that he failed to notice a lifeform lurking behind him.

"Scar...are we gonna be okay?" Rayne asked softly. He turned around, his eyes lingering on Zero while he did so.

"...I dunno this time. But we have no choice but to play the part. We are mere pawns in this tactical war; given an impossible goal, only accomplishable upon the enemy's mistakes." He spoke. The usual clatter in the holding pen seemed to double from the day before. He spun around toward the entrance and placed a finger on the side of his helmet. "I'll be back. I'm gonna go pay a visit to our 'Master'." He put heavy emphasis on that last word before he warped off. Rayne sighed heavily and looked out of the massive window toward the MHHQ.

"Echo. I'm sorry." She whispered to herself, wishing that her twin would hear her apology.

* * *

MHHQ- Strategic Meeting  
Time: 7:46 A.M.  
Date: 6-17-21XX

Alia walked tiredly into the room where the meeting was taking place. Upon entering, she eyed X, Signas and the leaders of the other units seated in front of a holographic view of MHHQ and Arcadia. They were discussing plans of attack and defense.

"If we put the 8th here," Signas said pointing to a space just outside the limits of Arcadia, "we'll have an advantage on this side."

"But if we do that," X interjected, "we'll be leaving our frontline defenses wide open. The defense turrets are powerful, but not against large numbers. I say we place the 8th here, along with the 1st." He pointed to the place where the 1st would be stationed.

"Why place them there," Ixion interrupted, "when we have my unit, the 16th, up there with the general infantry unit? I say we send them...here." She pointed toward the ocean. Pico shook his head furiously.

"That won't work either, seeing as how we don't even have space enough on our ships for my own unit." Ixion slammed a fist down.

"Well, why don't make space?" She spat the words at the Sea Force Unit commander snidely.

"I would have room if the frickin' 16th would stop running over to us every time they got threatened, _Ixion_." He retaliated. Ixion was known for have the most fluctuating unit in the Hunters. Why? Simply because she was pretty much a bitch twenty-four seven and no one could stand it for more than a few months.

Pretty soon, all of the commanders, save Signas, were quarrelling over where to place everyone else. Mick, the 8th commander, leant back in his seat with his hands folded behind his head. Alia listened to the bickering for as long as she could stand it. She stood up and dropped her navigation equipment on the table as loudly as possible.

"Good. Children, now that I have your attention, why don't you consider this: Scatter half of the 8th along the frontlines, as well as the 17th. The 6th should use reefs for cover as well as ambush points. Our true goal is to penetrate Arcadia and retrieve the stolen Cyber Elf. The 7th will carry the 0th, half of the 17th and half of the 8th into Arcadia over the enemy lines once they are broken through." Silence ensued for a few moments later. "Anyone have a problem with that strategy?" They all shook their heads simultaneously. She smiled and gestured to Signas.

"Well. Um...you heard the plan. We'll spend the next day or two preparing to execute it. Any questions?" They shook their heads in unison once more. Signas dismissed the room, pondering the thought of how much more useful Alia was than everyone else.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Yay! X-mas is almost here! Excited? I am! Tough chapter to write, but I think it's a good deal. I'm trying to focus on the background of a few characters, so feel free to ask questions. As always...

Till Next Time!


	6. Chapter 5: First Impressions

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

A/N: Archaon brought to my attention that the date for the X series isn't quite set in stone, so the date is **22XX.** Thanks to Archaon and sorry to all of those I have confused. Again.

* * *

**Chapter 5: First Impressions**

MMHQ- 0th Quarters  
Time: 7:01 A.M.  
Date: 6-18-22XX

An alarm clock blared ruthlessly throughout the room in a monotonous manner, causing a sleepy reploid to stir. She groaned as she reached an arm out to turn the noisy clock off. She banged her fingers against the edge of the dresser and let out what could be interpreted as a growl. She sat up quickly and glared at the devious noisemaker. She proceeded to rip it out of the wall, tearing the cord while doing so. With a huff, she made her way to the bathroom on the other side of the room.

After showering and completing her other morning tasks, she found herself in front of her closet, wearing a comfortable looking pair underwear and lace bra. She rummaged through the packets of clothes and found her uniform. She slipped into it and headed lifelessly out the door.

The walk to the 0th Unit's HQ proved to be a quiet one. Leyna had entered a state of being that was new to her. It was pain, but not physical, mental, or even emotional trauma. She felt like she was dead. Like a mechaniloid. Her eyes lost their jubilant glow. She walked into the room marked '0th HQ', with the following text underneath: 'the worldz finest'.

She mentally sighed as she stared at the words Zero had scribed onto the wall with a jumbo Sharpie. She remembered watching him do it. That was just one of the many things about Zero flooding her mind. Even though she knew him well, something just didn't feel right. It was the way he looked when he plummeted toward the sea of war. She shook her head, trying to clear it of the frightening images.

Upon walking in, she took a seat and waited for the rest of the unit to show up. She couldn't help but spot Zero's seat at the edge of the long table. Within minutes, the rest of the unit showed up along with Vice, the temporary unit commander.

"Well, you're early, Leyna. Never thought it'd happen." He smiled as he walked by. Leyna seemed to pay him no mind as he attempted to mock her. He realized this and strode past his chair. He grabbed Zero's seat and cast a glance at Leyna, who was now following his movement with cold eyes. He smirked at her reaction and sat down. Leyna growled as the cocky 'leader' squirmed about in Zero's chair.

"Well, this chair certainly is comfortable. But enough fun. This is what we will be doing at 1600 hours." Vice then went into a lengthy discussion over their unit's objective in Arcadia, all of which Leyna ignored. She hated the way Vice tried to run things. The way he tried to add in bits of humor the way Zero did so flawlessly. No one laughed; they didn't even smirk. He was making an even bigger ass of himself. But that's not why she didn't pay attention. She had other plans in Arcadia.

"Okay, team. That's the rundown, any questions?" He finished up. They all declined silently. "Alrighty, then. Dismissed!" And with that, the 0th dispersed, getting things ready for their operation. Leyna made her way to the Main Hall in an attempt to distance herself from Vice, who in turn chucked at the thought of getting under her skin.

* * *

Stryke plopped down on the chair, not believing what Kicker had just told him. Still, he thought he should prod for an alternate solution.

"Kicker, are you absolutely sure that I won't be able to get a replacement by four in the afternoon? You know that I have to go shoot a rifle at the enemy right?" Stryke said undeterred. Kicker sighed heavily and turned to face Stryke. He developed a pulsing anger vein on his forehead.

"Stryke, I already told you: your injury is rare, and because of that we have to order a spare eye from the company that manufactures your frame type since we don't have a one on hand. Do you know how rare you are?" Kicker said, his voice steadily rising with anger.

"But-"

"Even if we had an eye on hand, it would take a while to gouge out your damaged one and implant the replacement. That alone takes at least two very delicate hours. That's not even considering the time it would take for your systems to readjust for the new eye. You'd be blind for a quarter of the day." His anger seemed to diminish. Stryke sat there in the Thinker's position.

"Hmm...wait! I don't need toes to shoot a rifle, so do ya think you could turn a few into an eye..." He fell out of the chair quickly, looking over his shoulder to spot the sharp surgical instrument still vibrating from being thrown into the chair. He smile at the fuming doctor but dashed out of his office when he picked a large pair of scissors.

Outside the crazed surgeon's room, Stryke found himself looking at Locke, who had a box in her hand. He stood up and greeted her.

"Stryke, it's not wise to annoy the one who helps you. You might just find yourself needing more just an eye." He blew air through his lips.

"Nah, he'll be fine. Though you may be on to something...what's that?" He inquired upon spotting the box. Locke glanced down at it.

"Oh this? It's from Douglass." She handed him the box, unexpectantly. "He said it should help out with your depth perception. Stryke nearly yelped at 'depth perception' as he took the box from her. She smiled as she watched him open the box with eagerness. After pulling out a wad of soft padding, Stryke held up an eyepatch. His expression fell from cloud nine.

"An eyepatch? What the hell? Does he think I'm a pirate?" Stryke said as he got ready to chuck it down the hallway. Locke grabbed his arm before he could throw it.

"Stryke! Stop bein' a baby and put it on! It's not an ordinary patch!" She exclaimed as she prepared to wrestle him for the eyewear. He took another glance at the patch and noticed a slit in the center of it. Beneath that was a small orb of glass. He smirked at her before he went to go search for a mirror. About halfway down the hall, the klaxon alarm blared throughout the building.

"THIS IS A CLASS ALPHA ALARM. ALL HUNTERS ARE TO ASSEMBLE IN THEIR DESIGNATED UNIT FOR THE ARCADIA OPERATION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT: THIS IS NOT..."

Stryke cursed under his breath as he doubled back down the hall. Locke followed him down to the 17th's Armor Depot.

* * *

Central Tokyo  
Time: 10:13 A.M.

Harold Cain stormed through the door to the meeting room. He was about 5'11", had dark brown hair and seemed to be about twenty-five years of age. He shook his coat and hat free of water before hanging them on the back of his chair.

"It's raining already?" William Gantley asked his colleague.

"Not raining. Pouring." He replied. Looking around, he saw that only he and William were in the room. "Where're the governmental figures?"

"Not on time, as usual. I thought about goin' home before you showed up."

"How long have you been here, Will?"

"About an hour. Figured I didn't want to make the important people wait. But, lo and behold! They didn't even show up at the time they set up."

"Oh, be careful about what you say. You never know when they could just pop-up." He took a seat next to William, and as soon as he did so the door to the room opened, pouring in soggy governmental reps.

* * *

After a few moments of exchanging handshakes and names, Harry gave each rep a name of his own, Gov. Rep. 1 through Gov. Rep. 9, for the sake of simplicity. Rep. 1 cleared his throat loudly.

"I would like to thank you both for joining us today. I know it must be tough to tear away from your jobs, especially during wartime. But anyway, we have dire matters to discuss." He gestured to Rep. 3, a woman with brunette hair in her early twenties, who nodded and stood up.

"Yes, as we all know that this war is far different than the previous conflicts. The enemy leader is not reploid, but human. To us, this is just another enemy who threatens humanity, but to the Maverick Hunters, this is an enemy unlike any of which they have faced before."

"So, the rumors were true..." Will said, placing a hand to his chin.

"Yes," Rep. 7 spoke, "quite true indeed. This is the man who started the war," he said while pushing a button on his laptop, bringing a picture up on the holo-monitor. The picture showed a man in about his fifties, clad in a black, white and orange cloak. "This is Sebastian Weil. He goes by 'Dr. Weil'. Harry sighed. He wondered why all the enemies in the world tacked 'Dr.' onto their name.

"He has instigated this conflict by abducting a Cyber-Elf from Cain Laboratories. He apparently has a device that lets him control any reploid within his range. Exactly what that device is, we don't know." Harry twitched nervously in his seat as the company passed down to him by his distant grandfather was mentioned.

"So, what are you planning on doing about this situation?" Harry asked, carefully logging notes into his laptop.

"We were thinking about how to eliminate the threat without forcing the Hunters to kill Weil. If possible, we would like to capture and imprison him."

"Imprisonment?" William retorted.

"Yes. Imprisonment. Weil has committed a heinous crime. He plans to either enslave humanity, or outright destroy it." Rep. 6 said. William gasped with disgust.

"How exactly are we going to go about capturing him? I say we execute him." William thought out loud.

"That idea crossed our minds at first. But...we would just be playing into his game. Why end his life and free him of the torment he should live with? He will feel the guilt of his error and the pain of those he killed."

They sat in silence for a bit while the two non-governmental men pondered.

"Space..." Harry muttered loudly. This got him glances begging for an explanation. "Think about it: If we place him in a facility on Earth, he would find a way to free himself no matter how much heavy security we place on him. Remember how many times Dr. Wily made history repeat itself, and he didn't have control over even a toaster. Imagine how long it would take Weil to get free?"

Harry felt proud as he got the governmental figures thinking. Rep. 2 mumbled something, indicating that he was about to speak. "Do you really think he would be completely isolated up there? And would we retrieve him when he has far passed his life expectancy?" Harry contemplated this for a bit. He realized that the average life expectancy for humans well exceeded eighty, but that didn't mean much with one of the worst wars in history happening right next door.

"Yes, and, we will not have to retrieve him, for he shall not die." Harry answered both questions. He started to elaborate, but William interjected. "Since I doubt that this war will take less than a year, I'll have my company start researching on a life support system." Harry regarded his friend. "(Since when could he read minds...)"

"Yes. And I'll search for a way to make sure Weil stays in captivity." Harry said. The government reps stood and bowed as the meeting drew to a close. William noticed Harry following one of the government reps out the door with his eyes.

"Her name's Cielia Kusanagi." He said smugly. Harry choked on his tongue as he tried to form an excuse. William laughed at his friend as they decided they would discuss matters later over a drink.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Hey! This was a...strange chapter to crank out. It started out even and nicely. Then Christmas comes along and gives me Animal Crossing: Wild World and Mario Kart DS. Now my birthday will be here in a little over a week. Can he get a new chapter out in time? Or will he succumb to the death-grip of becoming an adult? Time will tell. Oh! And...

Till Next Time!


	7. Chapter 6: Prelude to a Mystery

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

* * *

**Chapter 6: Prelude to a Mystery**

MHHQ- Launch Bay  
Date: 6-18-22XX  
Time: 10:26 A.M.

Fenrir Lunaedge clamped his armored gauntlet around his forearm and flexed his clawed hand. He then ran across the large room to fall in with his Unit. He was one of the first to arrive seeing as how he was in the 0th's Armor Depot when the emergency klaxon sounded. He was joined by Leyna Strider, a girl that he barely knew. Not that he actually wanted to know her. He was more concerned about rising in ranks. Since their Unit commander was MIA, he felt that he was now a step closer to becoming the leader of the 0th. He was the Polar Region Unit's leader after all. He grinned slyly as the thought of stepping up to the plate seemed within grasp. Then he felt his wrists grow heavy, followed by a painful sounding shriek.

He looked down to see an ice blade protruding from his wrist, and upon following it with his eyes found that the tip dug into Leyna's left upper arm. "Oh shit! Sorry!" Fenrir nearly shouted as he quickly retracted his blade, causing her to yelp as the blade slid across her arm again. "Um, s-sorry...again..." He stammered out, feeling the chill from her gaze. The shorter reploid just glared at him for a moment before turning her attention to the front. He let out a breath he had been holding too long. "(Dammit! Three days outta the Sub-Arctic and I'm already losing control of my weapons.)" He felt bored so he decided to strike a conversation.

He had two choices. One was Leyna, who was most likely already pissed off. The other was Siege, a tall, buff looking reploid with a massive hypercannon attached to his shoulder.

"Yo, Siege," he chose the latter, "what exactly happened to Zero?" That earned him a look that condemned him to be an idiot.

"What kinda question is that, kid?" Siege chided the 'newbie'. Fenrir shrugged. "He's been MIA for a few days." Siege told him while looking straight ahead. Fenrir raised an eyebrow.

"Hunh. KIA..." He thought aloud, which earned him a punch on the arm. A hard punch. As he reeled in pain he looked down at the purple haired girl.

"...not KIA...MIA..." She said shortly before turning forward. The tall wolf decided not to give her a crazy glare. So he bothered Siege again.

"Yeeowch! Yo, man, what's her deal?" He rubbed his arm gingerly.

"Heh heh. Try not to make the commander's girlfriend mad. It hurts." Siege said through a smirk. Fenrir went wide-eyed. He glanced at Vice, then at Leyna.

Then he stated, "Commander Vice goes out with this demoness?" He then writhed in pain as he felt his already bruised arm suffer another blow.

* * *

X ran swiftly down the hall to the Launch Bay with Stryke, Locke, Signas and Echo behind him. They soon reached the Bay and fell into their units. When Signas assumed the front of the battalion, the entire room snapped to a salute. X thought about their current situation.

>>>

_MHHQ- High Commander's Office  
Date: 6-18-22XX  
Time: 10:16 A.M._

_"Damn it! Sound the alarm!" Signas barked out into his communicator. X stood firmly in front of the High Commander as he tried to get things in order so suddenly. He saw X standing opposite his desk, donned in his standard uniform. He looked puzzled._

_"Sir!" X saluted. Returning the salute, Signas gave X the low-down on the situation._

_"X. It's Weil's army. He's broken through our first line. We have to act now if we want to retrieve that Elf."_

_"What! So soon!" X exclaimed. Signas tuned his comm link to all frequencies and cleared his throat._

_"Attention all Hunters: This is Signas speaking. Weil's army has just broken through our first line. Assemble in the Launch Bay, now." After a few seconds Signas repeated his message for anyone just tuning in. X started yelling commands into the 17th's channel, and then checked on the leaders of the other units._

_A thought flashed over Signas mind. "X," he called for his attention, "this could be our chance to test that new Elf." X quickly shut his comm link off upon hearing that. Signas did the same._

_"...Yes, sir..." X said hesitantly, suddenly having a change of emotion. Signas raised an eyebrow inquisitively._

_"X...forget about it." Signas quickly added after realizing what happened last time X had to sacrifice a Cyber Elf. X nodded silently. "Alright, Colonel X. Dismissed." The brown-haired reploid's state of mind returned as he saluted before dashing out of the door._

_"Damn it. X, I forgot how you felt about using Elves."_

>>>

"All right, Hunters! We must recover that Cyber Elf at all costs. We _cannot_ fail." Signas raised a gloved fist into the air, gaining a loud bellowed war cry from the entire room. "Hunters...DISPERSE!"

Within moments, the 0th, half of the 17th and half of the 8th piled into the aircraft. The bay doors opened slowly as the air vessels hummed harmoniously. A large orb of condensed plasma hurtled toward the launch bay, threatening to take out a transport. It smashed into the anti-plasma field with tremendous force, sending dancing neutral plasma particles into the bay.

"Whoa, shit!" Hang on guys, here we go!" The pilot of the airship X and Leyna were on yelled out. Within moments of the warning message, the craft shot out of the bay, headed for Arcadia.

* * *

Arcadia- Inner Core  
Time: 10:13 A.M.

Scar stared at the monumental behemoth before him. Though incomplete, this massive reploid-in-the-works looked far more formidable than any living tyrant. He followed the tubes running from the platform the sleeping giant was standing on along the floor, finding that they ran into a tube with Zero in it. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous being next to the crimson demon, even though he was contained and unconscious. After clotting the bad blood between them, he had gone and killed one of their friends. _Again._

"...This time, he won't show me any mercy..." Scar mused over his fate with an uneasy conscience. He sighed exasperatedly. "...Why do I keep placing myself into these situations?" He found a wall and pressed his back against it.

Scars mind was overflowing with painful memories. Though he could usually push those aside, there was a certain act he had done that would never forgive himself for.

>>>

_"Weil!" Scar screamed, fighting off the feeling of being controlled. He struggled to keep his arms down. He strained as he turned his head to see Rayne, barely herself, frozen in place. Her eyes were fluorescent green, the power of one of Weil's elves seizing her mind._

_"Scar...I know all about you," Weil started, "about how you used to be the leader of a rebellious faction so long ago. About how you betrayed the Hunters not so long ago." Dr. Weil looked down upon him with a heinous grin._

_"Ehh! Just what...are you...g-gettin' at, Weil?" Scar whispered out painfully. The mad old man stepped closer to him._

_"I'm going to need a few strong generals to lead my future army. You two are the perfect candidates." Weil stated with a widening grin. Scar looked up at him with disgust._

_"What! Are you...trying to instigate a war?" Weil loosened his grip on Scar's mind, freeing him for a moment._

_"Isn't it obvious? Now that you understand my intentions, I think that you will submit to my will. Join my army, and you will suffer no mind control."_

_"And if I refuse?" Scar challenged the man. Weil smiled wickedly._

_"You really don't have a choice in the matter, Scar." Weil cast a glance over at Rayne, strengthening his grip on her mind. She let out a growl that grew into an agonizing scream._

_"Ah! Rayne! Weil, stop it!" Scar shrieked out. He impetuously dove at Weil, who in turn stopped him in his tracks by seizing his mind._

_"Right now she is suffering immense mental trauma. If it persists for much longer, her mind will be shattered, leaving nothing but an empty shell for me to control. You forget Scar, that I am the one in control." Weil spoke through a grin. Scar looked over at Rayne with woeful eyes. She was slumped over, grasping at her temples with furiously glowing eyes, all the while crying out in excruciating pain._

_"No...Rayne..."_

_"You know how to stop her suffering Scar. Agree to my terms, and she will suffer no longer." Weil scowled devilishly. Scar was conflicted. Right now he felt like he wanted to die. But that was the easy way out. He had to think about someone other than himself this time. That's how they got into this situation. Suddenly a blood-curdling scream from Rayne broke his thoughts._

_"AHHH! SCAR...HELP...MEE!" Rayne hollered out, tears flowing profusely from her eyes. He soon found tears stinging his own eyes._

_"Well? My patience grows thin, Scar." Scar squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Would Weil keep his word? Or would he go against it and kill her mind anyway? There was no time to think about that._

_"I...I'll do it. Just...just stop torturing Rayne!" Scar hollered out. Weil smirked at the groveling reploid. He released the grip on both of them. Scar rushed over to Rayne, who was shivering and sobbing uncontrollably and held her tight. Weil walked over to the mind torn beings._

_"So you agree. Now I just need to give you a test." Weil chuckled darkly. Scar looked up with a crazed expression at the mad scientist._

_"... ...Test?" Rayne asked hoarsely. Weil looked down at Scar._

_"Yes. The word of a captured reploid isn't very reliable. To prove your word and loyalty to me..." Weil started. Scar stared at him with anxious eyes while still holding on to Rayne._

_"...what is it?" Scar asked. "(Maybe he'll make me call him Master. Or swear eternal allegiance. Will he make me kill... ...no!)" Scar thought rapidly._

_"Cut off that girl's arm." Weil deadpanned. Rayne looked up at Weil with horrification strewn across her face. She slowly looked over at Scar, who more or less had the same look, add pale skin._

_"Y...you...you want me to...to..." Scar stammered out._

_"Sever the girl's arm." Weil confirmed, this time more deliberately. Scar cursed at the thought. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't do it._

_"Why!" Scar screamed. Weil turned to Rayne, who was shivering._

_"What would you rather keep, dear? Your arm or your soul?" Weil questioned the girl. She couldn't respond._

_"Weil, let her go. I'll take my own arm. I won't hurt her!"_

_"Scar. Do that, and she will surely parish. By your mind-controlled body, nonetheless." Weil narrowed his eyes. Rayne's eyes widened as her head felt like it was being crushed again. She screamed out in pain. Scar immediately shot up and grabbed Weil by the collar._

_"Let her go!" He demanded. He drew his blade and prepared to run it through the man._

_"Oh! Thinking about killing me now, are you? Have you forgotten that I'm a human?" Scar hissed as he realized what he was doing. He released the devious man in defeat, than looked at Rayne as she squirmed on the floor. She looked up at the tormented reploid with pleading eyes. After several long moments, he sighed with heavy anguish._

_"... ... ...If I go through with it... ...will you release her mind?" Scar asked, looking up at Weil with emotionally torn eyes. Weil smiled wickedly._

_"You have my word, Scar." Weil released her mind. Rayne lay on the ground gasping for air._

_"Scar...-cough-...please...do it...please." Rayne pleaded, not wanting to suffer anymore mental pain. She managed to smile weakly at him. Scar closed his eyes, wrestling the situation in his mind. He felt tears leaping from his eyes as he opened them. Rayne stood up and leaned against the wall. She held out her left arm then nodded, giving Scar the go ahead. He walked slowly over to the girl and stood there silently for a moment. He could see Weil grinning from ear to ear even with his back turned._

_Scar placed his blade over where her arm would be cut. He raised it over his head, pausing to look into Rayne's eyes. She nodded without hesitation. He held her arm steady with his own. Then he cast his glance over at Weil, who gave him the same nod. Scar cursed under his breath as he swung his blade downward. He heard the sound of flesh and metallic bone being cleaved apart, followed by a loud, long shriek._

_Scar fell to the ground with Rayne as a pool of blood formed under them. Weil walked over smugly, intending to observe the damage done. He looked at the puddle of blood and followed the drips up to Rayne's severed forearm. He spied the floor next and raised an inquisitive eyebrow when he spotted the separated appendage._

_"You would cut off your own arm as well, Scar?" Weil questioned. Scar turned around, showing Weil what remained of his bloody arm._

_"Heh...why...not? You were...going to...make her...do it anyway." Scar smirked up at him. "Besides...I...will share...her pain...no matter...wha..." Both reploids entered emergency shut down from the rapid loss of fluid. Weil smirked to himself._

_"Excellent."_

_>>>_

Scar's eyes snapped only almost violently. He pulled off his left gauntlet and stretched back the poly-digitanium sleeve on his jumpsuit back. He stared at the scar that circled his arm a few inches above the wrist.

"...and there's another reason why I have my name..." He whispered to himself. He almost jumped when his ear buzzed. Then he nearly growled when Weil's voice filled his ear.

"Scar. The Hunter's frontline has been weakened. Take your unit and push through to their base." Weil ordered. Scar hesitated for a moment. "Scar!"

"... ...will do. Over and out." He cut the comm link. "(_So he's dug a hole and wants me to widen it...Think I'll fill it back up instead_.)" He then opened his unit's comm channel.

"Unit Delta, fall in outside of Arcadia limits. Be ready for combat." He ordered lifelessly. He snapped on his gauntlet and turned to face the fluid suspended Zero.

"Even though Weil is lower than shit, he is still human. And I thought about killing him. If I should live to see the end of this war, Zero...I would have you kill me. I'd rather be a dead Maverick than a live one." Scar phased in his helmet as he warped off to the city limits.

* * *

Battlefield- Frontline  
Time: 10:29 A.M.

Leyna stared at the monitor attached to the front of the transport with burning ambition. It displayed the city of Arcadia, or rather, the battlefront. She studied the screen as if her life would slip away if she did so much as blink. The sound of Vice's voice calling her name made her slip. She snapped her head around in anger at him.

"Whoa! Watch it, Ley. You could kill with those eyes." He mused loudly. Ignoring him usually worked, but that made it worse this time. "Are you still mad about your boyfriend gettin' KIA?" She bit down on her tongue and balled up a tight fist to suppress her silent rage. But it wasn't enough.

"Shut...your...damn...hole..." She growled out. Vice smirked at her comment.

"Are you disrespecting your unit Commander? During a time of war, nonetheless." Vice raised an eyebrow smugly. Leyna stood up growled at him.

"You think you're so damn funny, don't you! Some kinda hotshot. The only reason you got that position is--"

"--because you were an overemotional wreck. Wait, no, I'm sorry. You're still an overemotional wreck." Leyna fell silent once more. "I bet you wouldn't have gotten it even if you weren't--"

"VICE! That's enough!" X shouted, fed up with his mouth. He managed to catch the attention of the entire personnel. "You're the 0th unit leader for this mission; act like one. You shouldn't be toying with your subordinates. Another sly remark from you and you'll find yourself in the brig. Do I make myself clear?" X commanded coldly.

"...tch..."

"What was that?"

"...Aye, sir..." Vice muttered aloud, feeling like he'd been kicked. He looked over at Leyna and extended a hand for shaking purposes. "Sorry bout that, kid. Meant no harm." He forced the words out quickly to her. She looked down at his hand and extended her own. He smiled, seeing how easily she was to break and build back up. But instead of shaking his hand, he found a closed fist with an extended center finger aimed at him. Her eyes and sign language got away with what words could not. He was about to return the gesture, but Colonel X hand his eyes trained on him, so he decided to let it slide. He really didn't have a choice. "(_... ...BITCH_!)"

Suddenly, X's name was called from the front. He went to see was he was called for, and returned moments later with a serious expression.

"Colonel X? What's wrong?" Fenrir asked.

"Take the transport down!" X yelled to the front as he missed the arctic wolf's question.

"But sir, the drop zone is hot! We don't know what that thing can do!" The pilot replied.

"Just do it!" X screamed. The aircraft descended gradually until it was about half of it's original altitude. "Open the doors!"

"This is as far as it...what!"

"Hurry up!" X yelled again, his face twisted in a growl. The doors shot open and X threw caution to the wind as he leapt out of the hover craft, leaving the entire crew confused and shocked.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Hey, hey, hey! It's here! Who likes cliffhangers? More to come! Stay tuned!

Till Next Time!


	8. Chapter 7: Crash 0

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

A/N: This is one of my spontaneous large chapters. A lot of stuff is going on, so here we go! Oh yea! Bonus points go to anyone who can figure out how this chapter earned its name.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Crash 0**

MHHQ- Navigation Sector  
Time: 10:34 A.M.  
Date: 6-18-22XX

"Get me the 16th Commander on the line!" A young, energetic navigator yelled into the comm.

"Kicker, get a medical squad down to the transit bay, ASAP!" A purple haired navigator yelled into her monitor.

"Pilot of transport number fourteen, what is your current status?" Alia asked roughly into the microphone of the headset she was wearing. She constantly stared at the screen of data, processing and analyzing it many times faster than any human could. She tossed a disk from her console to a reploid on the opposite side of the room, letting it float in the air like a feather.

"_Ma'am! We're in Arcadia! I repeat, we are in Arcadia!_" The pilot yelled into the speaker. There were sounds of heavy weapons fire and war cries filling the background.

"Personnel status?"

"_All personnel accounted for. Except...Colonel X._" He added that last bit of info on quickly, hoping she wouldn't catch it.

"What happened to X!" Alia screamed into her comm. She saw the pilot cringe as his hopeful wish was shattered. "Where is he? What did he do?" She interrogated. A navigator tapped her on the shoulder, earning her attention.

"Alia, Colonel X has been spotted on the battlefront. He is engaging the enemy directly." Palette informed the pink clad navigator. "His position is point 54B130A." The young navigator smiled as she watched Alia input the coordinates with lightning speed. The image of a blue hunter running across the sand was displayed.

"Thanks, Palette." She said before turning back to the monitor. "X! Are you okay?"

- - -

"I'm fine, Alia!" X spoke into his comm link. He hopped to the left to avoid a plasma bolt. "I was informed that a new type of armored unit was deployed from Arcadia." He dove into a roll to avoid a stray grenade and the following explosion.

"_New armored unit?_" Alia asked inquisitively. "_Do you see it yet?_"

"One sec." X said quickly as he confronted a Maverick, who threw a jab at the colonel's head. X simply side stepped and grabbed the reploid's arm, then spun around quickly, launching the unlucky Maverick into the fray. He did all this without missing a beat. As Alia watched him fight, she smiled as she saw how calmly he moved about. She wondered what he thought about when he fought.

"(_Survival? Protecting peace? Does he think of me?_)" She thought sheepishly.

"No." X replied suddenly.

"_What? No what?_" Alia was confused. She suddenly felt embarrassed. "(_Did I think that out loud?_)"

"You asked if I saw the armored unit. No, I don't see it yet." X responded more clearly. Alia sighed.

"_Oh, right. Let me know when you engage the enemy. I'll send Layer the details._" She responded, sounding distracted. X formed his buster and charged it halfway.

"Roger that!" He hopped on top of a Maverick's shoulder and placed his arm cannon on his face. He released the blast at the same time he activated the dash function in his boots and propelled himself many feet into the air.

"_X, how did you manage to get on the ground?_" It was X's turn to smile.

"Heh heh. I jumped." He said nonchalantly as he cancelled out a plasma beam with his own buster shot.

* * *

Battlefield- Frontline  
Time: 10:36 A.M.

Locke flipped backward over the large boar type Maverick as it charged at her. She extended her arms over her head when she was upside-down and shot her wrist blades into the armor of the mechanical pig. She twisted mid-air and planted her feet in the ground when she landed. Then, with more strength then her small figure should allow, she flung the enemy into a group of Mavericks closing in on her. A large Maverick with a cackling blade of energy jumped at her and performed a simple horizontal slice. She quickly parried the blade then stepped in to dig one of her own blades into the Maverick's arm. With a quick twist, the arm holding the blade tore loose from the shoulder. Another bladed Maverick tried a sneak attack from behind her. Locke rolled behind the mauled reploid to avoid the attack, then swept its feet from under it. While it was falling, she ran the blade through its owner and into the reploid preparing for another attack. She kicked the scrapped heap away before they could explode. Smirking, her eyes glowed, showing that she enjoyed the thrill of battle as she waltzed off into the inviting melee.

- - -

Stryke on the other hand barely dodged an energy knife aimed at his throat. He leaned back, feeling the heat of the offensive blade glancing over his skin. Drawing his Wastelander Pro(a pistol he had designed specifically for him), he whipped the knife out of his assailant's grip with a spin of the pistol and placed it in the reploid's mouth. "Seventeen!" He pulled the trigger, sending a wave of energy and reploid blood into the air. He holstered his pistol and drew out his trusted rifle. A canine mechaniloid charged at him, knocking him to the ground. He held out his rifle as to prevent the dog from sinking its teeth into his skull. He placed his foot into the mutt's ribcage and activated his dash system. "Let go, boy." He whispered as he launched the canine off of him. Subconsciously aiming with his patched eye, he muttered "Eighteen" as he pulled the trigger. With a sharp yelp, the dog fell limp before exploding. He placed the rifle on his back and thought about what just happened. He had just aimed with his left eye. His bad eye. "And I killed that Maverick with a single shot? This is some eyepatch." He marveled in the wonder of Douglass's gift to him before deciding to get back to the battle. He didn't have time to react as a swift reploid tackled him to the ground. He wrestled with the controlled Maverick as they rolled along the sand. Stryke stumble backward as he was thrown off of the Maverick, he drew a knife from his waist and charged the reploid, aiming for the artery in her neck while drawing out his custom pistol. She knocked back his knifing arm quickly as she stabbed at him with a blade on her arm. He fell to the ground in an attempt to dodge the blade. Though successful in dodging the blade, he left himself open for a kick to the abdomen, which sent him flying into a destroyed tank. He sat up dazedly and looked at the blurry image of the Maverick that punted him.

The ambience of war, the sounds of battle cries and explosions, the smell of burnt metal and blood, the taste of the stagnant air that filled the landscape, it all seemed to be drowned out by the image of the Maverick approaching him. She looked...familiar. In fact, his situation seemed familiar. "...wait. Locke?" He whispered as he stood up on shaky legs, his equilibrium system off balance from the last blow. "No...Not again!" He shouted upon remembering what happened so many years ago. He couldn't fight her then, and he sure as hell couldn't fight her now. He fell to a knee. "Ugh! Damn it! I can't move!"

The crazed reploid was upon him within a moment of his collapse. She kicked him to the ground and proceeded to stomp on his back, causing him to yell out in pain. Each stomp seemed to bury him deeper into the sand, and at the same time become less painful. Multiple reploid parts rained down around him as he struggled to get up. The ground felt...soft? Before he realized where he was, he was falling through the hole in the sand created by the reploid that was stomping on him. He struggled to revive his balance system before he hit the ground as he plummeted into the destroyed room underneath the desert sand. His mind was racing with thoughts. "(_No, Locke! Not again! Why is this happening...wait a sec...? Her EX drive was removed, so maybe UGH!_)" He slammed into the ground on his back, sending a wave of blunt pain through his spine. Then he heard something shift, which sent even more pain through his body. He gasped out in agony as a heavy weight crashed into his chest. He managed to raise his head up enough to speak.

"Enngh, Locke! Don't...do...it...AGH!" His words were cut short by a forceful kick. He flew inches over the ground and skidded into an old door. He ended up in a sitting position against the door and the floor. Through the dust he saw a figure walking toward him with glowing eyes. "Locke...snap out of it!" He tried one last time. She stopped. Then she laughed maniacally.

"Sorry, Stryke. Lord Weil is the only one I'll listen to!" She shouted in a warped voice before dashing at him with her blades drawn. He wanted to shut his eye and be surprised at how it would all end, but he refused to run away. When the crazed reploid closed about half the distance, he caught a glimpse of an orange glow in the dust. Then the charging reploid jerked and shuddered violently. She turned around slowly and stood stiff as the glowing blade was ripped out of her. Another blade flew forward and cleaved through her mid-section. The new figure then kicked the top half of the corpse across the room before running toward the one-eyed reploid, its eyes glowing fiercely. Stryke just stared at the new threat as it came closer and closer. He began breathing faster as the maverick approached him.

"(_If it could kill Locke, then I'm a sittin' duck. Almost literally._)" He thought as he started at the quick reploid. Then he heard something that raised his hopes.

"Stryke! Stryke! Are you okay?" The reploid shouted almost desperately. He smiled as he recognized the voice. The reploid in search mode stopped and peered through the darkness.

He stood up slowly as his balance system revived itself. "I'm over here...Locke..." Stryke spoke softly, hoping she would hear it. She did as she ran over to him and embraced him tightly, almost knocking him off-balance again. He was slow to return the hug, causing Locke to look up at him.

"What's wrong?"

"I think my sync engine is outta whack." He replied looking downcast. Locke gave him a pitiful look then kissed him. She stepped away from him and held him at arms length, making sure he wouldn't tip over when she let go.

"Poor guy. I'll fix you up." She said before disappearing behind him. He was confused as to what she had on her mind. He felt a pair of arms hooking around his own. He was slowly lifted off the ground as Locke pressed her back into his own. He felt a sharp sting in his lower back as she bent over forward, forcing his back to arch and pop. He gritted his teeth as the dull pain escalated and spread as he was rocked side to side.

"Just one more pop, Stryke. Hang in there!" She said tenderly as she twisted once more. A loud crack echoed in the room as Stryke's sync engine slid back into place. He turned around after Locke set him down. She hugged him again, and again, he was slow to react. "Stryke, somethin's on your mind." She concluded.

"...Locke. I...didn't want to lose you." He murmured out, looking deeply into her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I...thought you were brainwashed again. I...what the hell was that thing?" He nodded toward the torso of the Locke look-alike. She showed him a rip in her jumpsuit on her stomach.

"That was a newtype Copy 'roid." She stated.

"Copy reploid. Like Axl." He stated. Locke nodded in confirmation.

"Almost. Those guys can copy any reploid they come into contact with. That particular bastard was a wolf type when I fought it." She explained.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS?" A female voice bellowed out from the other side of the room. Locke berated herself silently for getting off-track.

"Dammit, that's Ixion! Stryke, X needs your help with that newtype enemy armor!" She told him quickly.

"Locke! Did you find him yet?" An impatient Ixion shouted out, looking through the darkness.

"Yea, I found him!" Locke spoke up as she and Stryke ran toward her.

"Well it's about damn time! What were you two doing in there?" She said in a suggestive tone. The two reploids suddenly felt ill. Not because of how Ixion questioned them, but rather the fact that she smiled. It was the first time any of them had seen the demon smile. But it faded just as quickly as it came.

"What the hell are you starin' at? Let's go!" She shouted as she leapt up the wall to the battle. Stryke and Locke looked at each other in shock before doing the same.

- - -

As soon as they surfaced, a stray bolt of plasma blew a crater in the sand next to them. They ran behind the destroy remains of the tank. Ixion knelt down and gripped her comm headset. Stryke looked around for X, but all he saw was a load of dead reploids.

"Locke, where's X?"

"He should be..."

"LOOK OUT!" Ixion shouted as she dove into the two hunters, rolling them away from the tank as a sharp green laser sliced through it vertically. A solid line of glass in the sand showed the laser's path as it continued to cut into the sand before phasing out.

"What the hell fired that?" Locke screamed out. Ixion un-slung a rifle from her back and tossed it to Stryke. He began to calibrate the sights and adjust the energy output.

"That thing is called a Golem. Colonel X is battling it now. It's wiped out forty-five percent of our frontline units." She stated in a bitter tone. Stryke stopped fumbling with the sniper rifle and stared at the massive mechaniloid. It was at least twelve feet tall. It hovered over the ground with twin gravity eliminators. Its armor was gray and chrome with splashes of red scattered over it. He also saw a faint blue figure firing rapidly at it. Ixion's ear beeped and a second later, X's voice filled her ears.

"Ixion! Are you okay?" X shouted over the sounds of buster fire and screams.

"Yes, sir. We're all fine. Did you locate the weak point?"

"Affirmative! Have the sniper aim for the Golem's mouth!" X shouted before he let off charged plasma blast that could double for a flare.

"He's over there! You heard the Colonel. Get ready, Stryke!" Ixion ordered. Stryke climbed the empty shell of the tank and found a clear line of fire. "When I give you the signal, pull the trigger!"

"Got it!" Stryke shouted as he peered through the scope. His mind was racing once again. He thought about how they would deal with Weil, with him being a human and all. How they would deal with him? They couldn't even get to him. If humanity was to survive, then Weil must be stopped. He's already invaded Arcadia. The reploids of Giga City are dead. Hell, Giga City **itself** is dead. If he wasn't here right now, he wouldn't have been able to hold the rifle he now aimed through. He wouldn't be able to stop the Golem. Or, could he stop it? What if he missed? What if he accidentally shot X? Who would save humanity then? When the time comes when Weil has the barrel of a cannon in front of his face, who would be there to-

"PULL THE TRIGGER!" Ixion's voice shattered his thoughts. Without actually interpreting what she had said, Stryke did it anyway. After a tense moment, the Golem exploded fiercely.

* * *

Battlefield- Frontline approach  
Time: 10:38 A.M.

X landed with a thud over the crowd of clashing Mavericks and Hunters. He continued his pace, leaping over plasma beams and dodging melee weapons of all types. When he reached a clearing, a large Mechaniloid erupted from the sand and shot a massive morning star at him. It collided with him and threatened to knock him back. X wrapped his arms around it as much as he could, then tossed the ball off to the side. He dashed at the mechaniloid and drove his fist into its upper body, knocking it into the ground. The spiked ball was flung into the air, so X quickly caught the chain and redirected it's momentum into the mechaniloid. He clutched at his chest plate, which had become dented from the heavy metal ball.

"Dammit, that hurt..." He whispered to himself, forgetting that his comm link was still on.

"X, are you okay?" Alia asked in her usual worried tone. Before he could give an answer, a loud explosion rocked the area, followed by multiple screams and weapons fire.

"Alia, I've located the armor unit! Sending video feed now!" X confirmed as he switched his optics to streaming mode. He stared in horror at the giant as it ripped through a crowd of hunters, splashing their blood over the sand.

"_Oh my God, THAT'S the armored unit?_" Alia gasped out in shock. X took note of the weapons used against it.

"Looks like it. Alia, do you see any weak point on it? Standard weapons won't destroy it." Alia was silent for a moment.

"_Well, what about your buster? I'm sure it should be able to damage it. What version is it again?_" She suggested.

"It's a MK X." He said after thinking it over. He groaned as his chest started hurting. "I can try to stall it for the time being, but I can only last about ten minutes.

"_Ok. I'll have Layer analyze the thing and get the information to you._" Alia said. She noticed X's breathing was a little bit harder than normal. "_X, are you sure you're okay?_" He wanted to say "No", but that wouldn't do him or her any good. He didn't want to lie either.

"I'll be fine." He said as he began charging his buster.

"_X...be careful. And...Good luck._" She said, her full of worry. X dashed off toward the giant mechanical nightmare.

- - -

He ran across the sand instead of dashing in order to conserve energy. His comm link rang shortly after he started running.

"_Colonel X, this is Layer. I have some intel on that unmanned armor._"

"Alright, Layer. Give me some good news."

"_That is a prototype Geothermal Operated Liberation Mechaniloid, or Golem. I hoped that Cain Laboratories would have scrapped that idea..._"

"Waitasec! Cain Laboratories created that thing!" X asked in a stupefied manner.

"_Not exactly. Weil has somehow obtained the experimental data from Cain Labs. That thing should have never seen the light of day. But since it's here, we have to face it._"

"That's what I had in mind. What can I do to hurt this thing?"

"_Colonel X, listen closely. Its weak point is the energy emitter in its mouth. Standard grade weapons won't damage the Golem. Your buster should be able to do some damage._"

"How long do you think it would take to destroy it with an MK X?"

"_MK X? I'd say about thirty fully charged shots._" X cringed at the large number.

"Layer, I'm not gonna have nearly enough stamina to destroy it. My energy stabilizer was damaged. Is there another option?"

"_Yes, but it requires a sniper. A pulse energy rifle should be able to damage it significantly. Do you know anyone with that skill?_"

"Yea, I do. Thank you, Layer."

"_No thanks are necessary, Colonel X. Take extreme caution when engaging the Golem._"

When he reached the giant, he shot his charged plasma blast at its head, stopping the large threat. X spotted at least thirty hunters in the area that were wounded, yet still alive, and no less than twice that amount dead around the beast.

"Go! Get out of here!" X shouted as he rushed towards the giant. The large beast rushed past him toward the fleeing hunters. "NO!" X shouted as he charged up another plasma blast and shot the mechanical monster. It was unfazed as it shot a fist at the group of hunters, killing them.

"What kind of monster is this?" A hunter said to no one in particular as she struggled to get up. The massive armor prepared to throw another punch at her. X scooped her up and dashed away before the fist could connect. He handed her over to another hunter before turning around and firing a fully charged plasma shot. The Golem let out what could be interpreted as a scream of pain. X charged up another shot as he tried to contact Stryke. Nothing. The Golem charged at the new threat in an attempt to flatten him. X jumped out of the way, fired another shot and started charging again. Next, he tried contacting Locke. Nothing again. He fired the shot. Of all the different possibilities, X never expected the Golem's fist to deflect it back at him. He barely rolled away from the cackling orb of death. He also didn't expect the fist to shoot out and snatch him up.

Luckily, he had an arm free. As the Golem drew him in he activated his Giga Attack. X's body began to glow with a fierce light as the wings on his back extended, breaking the Golem's grip on his body. He hovered in the air for a bit before dashing in the opposite direction. When he landed on the ground, the raw energy surrounding his body dissipated. He fell to a knee as he tried sending out a random transmission. Someone responded.

"_This is Ixion. What's up?_" A sharp female voice came through on the other line.

"Ixion, this is X."

"_Colonel X! What is, sir?_" X began charging another shot.

"I need you to find Stryke." X took a moment to dash under the behemoth mechaniloid. "I need a capable sniper to take out this Golem. Can you find him?"

- - -

Ixion looked around in the fray around her. No sign of Stryke. She was about to call back to X, but then she saw a familiar female dashing her way. She smiled and reported. "Colonel X. I've located our sniper by a decimated tank. I'll retrieve him in a matter of minutes."

"_Great! Please hurry! I'm runnin' outta steam!_" X said exhaustedly.

Ixion grabbed Locke by the shoulder, jerking the chocolate haired girl out of her dash.

"Locke, where's Stryke?"

"I was going after him! He's in trouble!" Locke shouted as she dashed off toward a destroyed tank. Ixion dashed alongside her, slamming the butt of her rifle into the skull of a maverick as she went.

"Listen up, Locke: Colonel X just contacted me. He needs Stryke to snipe that newtype armor. Go get him, I'll cover you!" She ordered as she formed her own buster. She placed her free hand on the ground and positioned herself so that she was in a one-handed handstand. She set her buster to rapid and fired a torrent of energy into a crowd that followed her. Still firing, she extended her right leg and activated her dash output in that leg alone. That caused her to spin around on her palm while she shot up the surrounding crowd. As they drew nearer, she lowered herself to the ground and began twirling on her back, kicking the mavericks that grew nearer. She propelled herself into the air over the crowd and activated a pair of beam blades, becoming a whirling bladed tornado. When she hit the ground, something similar to a blender could be heard as the blades cut though the surrounding reploids. She placed her foot down in the sand and slowed her spin to a stop. "Heh, how didja like that, bitches? The Ixion Hurricane." She went off toward the tank.

- - -

X jumped straight up and fired a burst of plasma at the Golem, scoring a hit. The Golem tried to drive X into the sand with its fist, but he read its move and countered by catching its fist by the chain. Then he felt a large surge of energy shifting about in the air. It seemed to flow toward the Golem's energy emitter. X quickly started to charge his buster, but the energy was drawn out of the buster as he charged it. The emitter started to glow a fierce green. He reached up and grabbed his comm link.

"Ixion! Did you find Stryke?" He asked hurriedly while eyeing the Golem's emitter.

"_Yes, sir. Stryke is configuring the rifle as we speak._" The Golem's emitted stopped glowing suddenly. Then a budding bulb of energy formed. X glanced behind him and spotted the tank Ixion mentioned earlier. He saw three hunters standing next to it.

"Shit! Ixion! GET AWAY FROM THAT TANK!" X shouted out in a desperate attempt to get them away before the laser fired. He rolled to the right as the green laser shot out at an impossible speed. He turned around as he unfurled himself and stared at the glass path the laser made in the sand. He heard the screams of many as the laser cut through the crowd of reploids.

"Ixion! Are you okay?" X shouted as he fired his buster at the Golem.

"_Yes, sir. We're all fine. Did you locate the weak point?_"

"Affirmative! Have the sniper aim for the Golem's mouth! Wait for my signal!" He charged his buster and leaned back to fire it at the Golem. Instead of bracing himself with his free arm, he winced in pain as he fell back and shot a plasma wave into the air. As it passed the Golem, the excess plasma from the laser fused with it and made it glow like a flare. He rolled off of his severed arm and lay on his back. "So, the laser got me anyway..."

The Golem began to charge up the energy again. After he saw that the Golem would shoot another laser, he hopped up and grabbed something near the massive mechaniloid and dashed as fast as he could from the monster. Then he gave the command.

"NOW!" Time seemed to freeze as a bolt of hyper plasma sailed over his head and into the Golem. The resulting explosion was massive. X screamed out as he felt the intense heat engulf him. The last thing he heard was Ixion's voice calling out to him desperately.

**To be continued...**

* * *

WOO! This was an extremely fun chapter to write! Seriously, it started out okay, and then I got a bunch of inspiration after I played Megaman X Collection. That's the reason I took a while to get this chapter out. I could have had it out a few days ago, but MMXC and my growing imagination took over, hence the long chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it, because I sure as hell loved writing it. And as always...

Till Next Time!


	9. Chapter 8: The Unexpected

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Unexpected**

Arcadia- Inner City  
Time: 10:32 A.M.  
Date: 6-18-22XX

"X!" Leyna screamed out as the legendary hunter leapt from the craft without a second thought. She was about to lunge out after him, but the doors slammed shut. Vice, the only hunter besides the pilot who was still in his seat, snickered loudly. He didn't even try to conceal it.

"Nyah ha ha! Tell me, Mrs. Zero, what could you have done to help him out?" Vice asked through fits of laughter. Leyna didn't answer as she sat back down in her seat. "No answer, eh?" She ignored him as the pilot yelled out for the unit to get ready. "Guess not. Now that the high strung ancient commander abandoned ship, you don't have anyone to speak for you, right?" His comment was answered with a slap across the face. He snapped his head to where the source of the blow came. He expected to see an angered Locke at the dealing end, but instead saw shorter female staring at him with angry emerald eyes.

"You've got some nerve! Disgracing X behind his back! You're a Hunter, dammit!" Echo shouted as the craft touched ground.

"All right! Everyone bail out!" The pilot shouted as the doors on either side of the transport shot open. Vice loomed over the shorter reploid with nothing short of lightning in his eyes.

"Hmm. Black hair with silver dipped ends. You must be Echo. I heard that you used to run with the Mavericks decades ago." He said simply, aiming to vex her. She said nothing. "Just as I thought. I don't trust you."

"Regardless of that! You should show more respect to X and Zero. They've saved the Earth more times than--"

"Don't give me that bullshit, woman! Guys like that don't earn my respect. And when you don't have my respect, you don't have my trust. So I'll say this once, so even _you_ idiots can understand: I don't like Zero, I don't like 'Colonel X', I don't like that little runt chameleon, I don't like _you_. I damn near don't like anyone." He said firm and coolly, his voice sending ice through her spine.

"...Then what the hell are you even doing here?" She said after regaining her composure.

"You don't need to know that, girl. What you **do** need to know is this," he said before grabbing his rifle from his seat.

"I am the Unit Commander. You will perform under my command. That means you listen, shut up, and stay the hell outta my way." He brushed past the girl and hopped off the transport. Echo stared at him and thought about killing him on the spot. A hand clapped down on her shoulder. She turned to face Leyna with angry eyes on the verge of tears.

"When we enter the city, follow me." The violet haired hunter said while slinging her rifle over her shoulder. Echo was slow to nod, trying to figure out what her friend had in mind.

- - -

Vice paced before the special unit while he did a mental head count. He grew bored when he reached 'Ten' so he skipped counting the rest.

"Okay! Listen up! Our mission today is to retrieve the stolen cyber elf. Since this is a search and recover mission, we will split up into two teams. I will be leading the main infiltration squad. Siege over there will lead the covering squad." He went on, repeating what everyone already knew. But he added something that got everyone's attention.

"Instead of using the pre-laid route, we'll be taking a more..._direct_ approach." He said mysteriously.

"So, you're planning on deviating from the route?" Leyna spoke up. "You do realize that the pre-laid route ensures the quickest method of..."

"Not if we can bust down a few walls. But why are you worried about that? You're on the 'B Squad'." He cut her off with an annoyed expression. "My team," he pointed at the first two rows and moved his hand to the left, "follow me. The rest of you decide who's gonna cover us, and who's gonna defend each checkpoint." He finished up. "Ok, move out!"

The hunters split themselves up into their assigned groups. A technical hunter weakened the side of the wall with a laser, then moved away as Siege blew the wall to hell. They moved in, Vice's group in between a group of the other Hunters. Siege twitched uncomfortably.

"This plan is crap! There's way too many of us moving as a group." He whispered to everyone but Vice.

"That won't matter in a few moments." Leyna said as gunfire from the front started up. Siege fired his rifle at the enemy.

"What do you mean? You have a plan that won't get us killed?" He spoke in a normal voice, the battle cries and shouting and machine guns drowning his whisper.

"Somethin' like that." She said as she hopped on the wall and shot at the NT's at the opposite hallway.

"Front side clear!" A hunter in the front yelled out. A bullet ricocheted in the hallway behind them, causing the back half of the Hunters to turn and fire rapidly.

"We got heat from the backside!" A hunter shouted as more of Siege's unit returned fire.

"Vice! Take your unit and go! We'll handle these NT's!" Leyna shouted as she replaced her pistol secretly into its holster. Vice stared incredulously at her before commenting.

"Now that's a good girl!" He sneered before taking his unit further into the building. Once they were down the hall, she yelled for the rest of the Hunters to cease firing.

"Wait a tick...there's no return fire?" A hunter spoke loudly as he turned to regard Leyna.

"It was a distraction." She said bluntly as she snagged a laser cutter from the waist of a technical huntress and traced a large circle on the floor.

"Could you be a little more elaborate please? I mean, our frickin' lives are on the line!" He protested as he joined the rest of the group watching the violet haired huntress prepare the floor for an explosion.

"I fired the shot." She said after setting the final charge on the ground. She blew the first half, then grabbed the center of the piece to be excised. After the rest were blown, she lifted the circular piece of flooring up and set it to the side. Then, grabbing her knife she said, "I'll be back in a minute," before biting down on the handle and jumping into the dark room. After a tense moment of silence, she hopped back up the hole.

"Okay, here's the deal: I just hacked their network." She waited for a bit before continuing. "I'm gonna go get our commander back. Our _real_ commander. I'll need some backup, but I'll go it alone if I have to." She said calmly, while wiping a thin trail of blood from her cheek with her thumb.

"I'm in!" Echo blurted out. Siege grunted in agreement and strode over beside her. Now it was up to everyone else.

"Are you NUTS?" An unimportant hunter howled out. "Straying away from the mission objective? That's deviating from orders!"

"We deviated when we entered this building." She snapped back. "Now you can either go protect Vice and walk into a trap, or follow me and get Zero back." She looked around for any takers. A handful of Hunters stepped around the hole and ran down the hall after Vice's group.

"Sorry, but we're in enough shit as it is." The insignificant hunter muttered as he ran past her. Leyna drew her knives as more Hunters ran past them.

"Echo, Siege. Let's go." And she hopped down the hole without a swaying emotion. Echo and Siege exchanged brief glances before following suit and jumping in.

- - -

When Echo landed on the ground in the dark room, the only things she could see were the glow from the monitor and the reflected light from the crystal orbs on the three Hunter's armor. She found a light switch, flipped it and responded to the scene around her.

"Whoa..." There were five NT's armed and armored to the teeth, dead on the floor. They had deep gashes in their necks with blood pouring out of them.

"Well, this explains how the blood got on your face." Siege regarded as the purple haired girl opened a locker and grabbed a few items from it. "So, where're our commander being held? Is he even in this building?"

"I hacked the mapping system file not too long ago. There's a large depot a few floors below us. This is what showed up on the camera." She explained and then activated the camera monitor. Echo and Siege stared at the screen as it showed a relatively empty lab-like area. And right in the middle of the screen was a tube with a blonde reploid suspended in it.

"That's our guy!" Echo said triumphantly as the door behind them shot open, revealing a guard with a radio in his hand. All three Hunters turned and froze. Upon seeing the three infiltrators, the reploid raised the radio up threateningly to his face. Leyna quickly stuck her knife between her teeth and drew two more smaller knives as she prepared to rush the reploid. As soon as she took a step, the guard fell limp as his helmet shattered and a trail of blood flew from a hole in his head. The Hunters glanced over and saw a few of their allies, one replacing his pistol in its holster.

"Following a stray is better than following a fool." He said as the five behind him nodded in agreement. A smile crept up on Leyna's face as she eyed the Hunters from the 0th Unit. "So, what's the plan of attack?"

- - -

Battlefield  
Time: 10:53 A.M.

Scar shouted as he thrust his blade into an unlucky Hunter, silencing him forever. "(_Dammit, X! You've destroyed the Golem too soon! Now it can't be helped..._)" He thought as he ran to where the Golem was destroyed. He stopped when he saw a group approaching him. "14th Unit..." He stated aloud as they surrounded him. One of them made a sound that might pass for a gasp.

"Scar...why are you siding with that lunatic!" A tall Hunter clad in amber armor shouted. Scar turned his head to regard him.

"Leave this field at once. I do not wish to spill your blood." Scar said emotionlessly as he replaced the black katana in its sheath. The amber Hunter tensed at his words. "There aren't many more of the 14th left, are there? Don't make me exterminate your unit completely."

"You...bastard!" He shouted as he charged at Scar, intending to tackle him. When he touched the ninja reploid, he felt his arm shatter before he got a chance to grab at the traitor. Scar slammed the larger reploid on the ground, shaking the sandy terrain.

"HADOKEN!" A Huntress shouted as a wave of fire rushed at Scar, who jumped over the offensive flame. The hunter ended the wave abruptly and jumped up with him, her hand trailing with fire as she attempted to uppercut the quick reploid. Scar countered with a kick to her exposed stomach, causing her to vomit instantly as she plummeted into the sand where she stood.

"You should have run. You still can. This is your _last_ chance..." He alluded once more. The Hunters of the 14th Grapple Unit shouted as they rushed the ebony clad reploid. Scar sighed as he drew his blade part-way and held up a hand sign in front of his face. "So be it...Valde puteus. Sileo in pacis." (Very well. May you rest in peace.)

Within the blink of an eye, the six surrounding Hunters fell limp. Scar landed on the ground a few feet away from where he was standing, and wiped the blood off his blade before placing it on his back. He turned to the two horrified survivors. They eyed him with terror as the fire wielding huntress held up a shaky and pained arm. She attempted to harness the fire in her gauntlet, but failed due to her overwhelming pain and fear.

"Please, get out of here. Don't make me kill another unit." Scar nearly pleaded as he turned to rush over to where the Golem exploded. The Huntress on the ground called out for the flame armored reploid to help him up. She knelt down gingerly and pulled him to his feet.

"What the hell? He...didn't kill us. Why..." He gasped out as he looked at his dead comrades. "Why didn't he finish what he started?" He questioned aloud as he looked on at the warrior.

"Scar...he's changed..." The flame specialist remarked as she fought back tears stinging her eyes. She looked over the bodies of her dead comrades. One of them moved.

"Yea he has! That bastard's gone soft. He only scratched me!" A dark haired reploid said as he rolled over, revealing a cut on his stomach.

"He still doesn't pull any punches though. I think he broke somethin'!" A Huntress with cat-like ears exclaimed as she saw up slowly, rubbing her thigh. Kiya, the unit commander, smiled as she watched her comrades rise one by one. She glanced over in the direction Scar was in and smiled. He suddenly stopped in the distance and was surrounded by another Hunter unit. They moved in on him the same way the 14th had, and met the same conclusion. Then she saw an odd looking reploid approach the downed squad.

"Is that...some kind of bug?" She asked, making everyone look toward the odd reploid. No sooner than she said that, the mosquito rammed into one of the Hunters on the ground, impaling him with a long needle-like thorn. She gasped as he moved from Hunter to Hunter, killing them all in the same way.

"He's killing them! We have to go help AGH!" A Hunter was cut off as a massive reploid tackled him to the ground. Kiya looked at the large canine as he sank his teeth into the Hunter's neck, killing him in a gruesome manner. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a smaller Hunter and tore him in half, sending a wave of blood over the sand.

"NO! STOP IT!" Kiya shouted as she lunged at the beast. He reached out and gripped her neck forcefully, lifting her off the ground. As the bruised up members of the 14th tried desperately to damage the canine, they each met their end in a brutal way. Some became headless, others were impaled repeatedly, a few had large chunks of them bitten away. Kiya look on helplessly as the overgrown Doberman pressed his foot into the already dead amber clad Hunter, crushing him into the sand. She winced as a stream of blood shot out and painted her face. She eyed the Doberman with shrunken pupils as he gave her a wicked, blood-stain grin.

"Who... ...are... ...you?" She choked out as he began squeezing her neck tighter.

"It's not my fault you have to die. I'm just cleanin' up after my 'Commander'." The bulky reploid bellowed in a low tone.

"B-but...cough ... ...Who are you?" She managed to ask once more, her fearful voice diminishing slowly.

"Not that it'll do you any good, but, I'm Inferno Surebrec: The eternal guardian." He said as he jerked his fist, causing the girl to squeal briefly before a loud sickening crack emanated from her neck. Her body went limp as her eyes lost color and her head hung lazily. He laid the dead Huntress on the ground gently and regarded her for a brief moment.

"Never is easy to kill a woman that can't fight back. But that's my job, so I can't complain." He muttered in his Aussie voice as he spotted another Hunter unit coming up on him. "Well then! Let's get the show on the road!"

- - -

MHHQ- Med Lab  
Time: 10:52 A.M.

X stared at the blinding light that focused on his left arm. Or rather, what was _left_ of his left arm. Kicker carefully placed the lower half of his severed limb on the operating table next to him and adjusted it in position.

"X, that looked like a hard fight, but there was never any doubt that you'd come out on top. Good job, Hunter." Signas said to the guilt-stricken reploid. X merely turned his head to regard his commander. Then uncomfortable silence filled the room. Kicker decided to end it.

"X. Must you always lose a limb at the start of every war?" Kicker asked in mock annoyance as he began attaching the bones back together. X didn't respond. "But I suppose you didn't really 'lose' this arm, since you brought it back with you."

"Please, Kicker. Not right now." X asked monotonically. "I technically shouldn't even be here. She threw her life away to save me. I didn't even know her. Not who she was, not what unit she belonged to. She shielded me from that explosion..." He went on, thinking back to what happened.

"Who?" Kicker asked nonchalantly as he began attaching the tiny mechanical veins and arteries.

"She was from the 1st. I don't know who she was per se, but I'd seen her with the 1st." Ixion spoke up. "X, you shouldn't beat yourself up over that. She was doing her job."

"Doing her job? What the hell are you saying! What does that mean!" X exploded in a sudden outburst of anger. Luckily, he was unable to move, or else Kicker would have a sharp object in _his_ arm.

"Fighting a war. That was her job. That's all of our jobs. She's not the only one out there that sacrificed her own well being for another. You need to realize that X." Kicker said calmly as he finished up the surgery on X's arm. X sat up and eyed his arm, flexing the reattached appendage. He looked up at Kicker.

"I...I suppose you're right. She died while trying to protect someone. But that still doesn't make it right." X stated as he turned around. "So...that's why...I'm gonna end it all. I'm gonna stop this senseless violence. When this war is over...I'll...I'll build a utopia."

Upon hearing that, Signas, Kicker and Ixion all regarded him as if he had lost it completely.

"A place where both Reploids and Humans are able to coexist with one another. A world free of war." X continued.

"X..."

"Lemme go, dammit!" A shrill voice suddenly shouted from outside the door. A second later, said door flew open.

"Commander Signas! You're needed in the command wing!" A distressed Palette gasped out. Signas stood immediately.

"What's the situation?" He asked gruffly. Palette griped her headset and gasped loudly.

"The infiltration squad sent to Arcadia is on their way back to base. But..."

"But _what!_" X prodded. She cringed.

"...There're only seven survivors...the rest of the infiltration unit were wiped out..."

Silence filled the room as Signas dashed out of the O.R. at top speed, with the young navigator at his heels. X flexed his arm one last time before attaching his gauntlet and running after them. Ixion looked at Kicker for a while.

"Go ahead. I'm gonna need all the space I can get."

And with that, she took off as well.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Bwah ha ha! Fear my broken Latin! This chapter was easy to crank out. Not sure why. But anyway! Another bonus point for anyone that can figure out the familiar quote I stuck in here. I'll keep writing as long as you all keep...reviewing! Seriously, there's nothing like checking your email and finding a few review notices sitting there. OK! Tell me how I'm doin', what I should be doin', or, hell, give me a new idea for a story!

Till Next Time!


	10. Chapter 9: Twisted Fate

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

* * *

**Chapter 9: Twisted Fate**

Arcadia- City Core  
Time: 10:41 A.M.  
Date: 6-18-22XX

An Arcadian guard ran down the lengthy hallway and turned the corner. He shouted into a room he ran past, and a little more than twenty soldiers poured out of the room after him. The last reploid that ran out felt his head being grabbed. Then he felt and heard a sharp pop in his neck as it was jerked violently to the side. His body silently slid up into a ventilation duct. Moments later, the soldier jumped down out of the duct and sped around the corner.

- - -

"Good job, Vern. Set the beacon up when they past the room Zero's in." Leyna whispered into her comm link.

"_Roger that ma'am. Good luck._" Neil whispered back quickly. Leyna looked back at her small team. Echo was standing against the doorframe with her crazy looking tonfa blades. Siege was sitting against the wall, puffing on a cigarette. Another hunter was monitoring the surrounding hallways via computer. Two more were making small talk. Siege blew a stream of smoke from his mouth.

"So, what happened in Giga City? I've heard all kinds of rumors. Something about Redips slaughtering the 'roids there. I think it was Weil."

"Oh, no! Nothin' like that, man. It...uh...um...never mind." Echo stopped when she thought about it. She was just fending off the rampaging reploids along with Axl. She didn't even think about asking anyone about what happened.

"We're not really authorized to give out that info anyway. At least not yet." Leyna said bitterly, remembering what happened. Siege let out a resounding grunt before taking another drag on his cigarette. Echo faked a cough.

"Ack! Siege, why do you smoke those things? They're bad for you! And besides that, they stink!" She coughed out. Siege made a face at her.

"Don't even start! The same could be said about beer! Why do you drink those cans of purging liquid?"

"It's a habit! But I don't drink 'em half as much as you smoke those 'Death Sticks'!"

"Hey, I only smoke when I need to calm my nerves. And they have no physical or mental effect on 'roids. _Unlike beer._" He smiled after his coup de grace. Echo mock frowned as Siege chuckled warmly.

"So this is what the famed 0th Unit is like, huh?" A pale hunter remarked aloud. Echo regarded him with a smug grin.

"Nah, not really. This is tame compared to when Zero's around."

"Yea. Colonel X has told us many stories about his endeavors."

"Heads up, guys! I gotta beacon!" Leyna called out, signaling the hunters to get ready.

"Lynn, is the short transit ready out there?"

"_Yes ma'am. I've placed it on the wall above the entrance point._" A determined female voice replied.

"Ok. We're starting the rescue op. Leyna, out." She closed the link and turned to her small team. "Alright, the beacon is giving a readout of... 126 degrees to the left...and an angle of depression of 46 degrees." She moved to the spot indicated by the numbers and marked the floor. "Set the drill here!"

Ross, the only hunter from the 8th, set up a power drill on the floor. He set the deviation points for the laser cutters, and then he cranked the laser length to penetrate three floors. Giving her the thumbs up, she gave him a quick nod. He pressed the button and hastily backed away from the device. It hummed to life traced a large circle for the laser's path before deploying a suspended tripod that rotated three bright green lasers. He was about to say something when the emergency klaxons went off.

"What the hell!" Leyna gasped as she eyed one of the monitor screens. She swore aloud when she saw the cause of the alarm. "Vice, you idiot!"

"Shit! Leyna, we've got company!" The monitoring hunter shrieked out. The door to the room busted open just as the floor drill completed the hole in the floor.

"Go!" Echo shouted as she threw a smoke bomb at the soldiers spilling into the room. She dropped down the hole and passed up three floors before landing on the hard surface below. Leyna fired shots at the armored reploids as they made fruitless attempts to grab her. As the last hunter descended down the hole, she turned and dove into the pit. One of the NT's got lucky and grabbed her by the foot. He chuckled as he started to pull her up. She chortled as she chucked a device at him, which stuck on his face. He let go of her as his body went into convulsions moments before the device exploded.

- - -

Leyna grabbed a pipe jutting out of the exposed ceiling and swung herself around as she reached the bottom. She ducked as she landed on the ground, and was lucky that she did so. A large plasma blot sailed over her head and collided with the wall. She looked around for her squad and found that they were fighting with the NT Mavericks. She made a dash through the chaos around her for a digital panel she found on a wall. Along the way she jumped over bodies of not yet dead reploids and ducked under various projectiles, a couple of which that connected with her. Then a heavy weight tackled her onto the ground. She couldn't believe it.

"What the hell are you doing here! You're supposed to be up top!" Vice growled out as he stood up and shot off a few rounds of his rifle. Leyna simply growled back and took off again. Oddly enough, seeing him filled her heart with joy.

The joy of seeing his face when she got Zero back on their side put a smile on _her_ face.

She ran into a small hallway and rounded the corner. She was tackled to the ground by a large reploid. She looked up and saw a fist before it drove into her face. She managed to block a few of the wild punches before she jammed a knife into the offensive reploid's neck. He fell off of her as she got up. A small amount of movement on the ceiling caught her attention, causing her to look up. The ceiling tile swiveled back, revealing a large plasma turret. She swore as she ran to a nearby wall. The defensive turret fired a torrent of foul energy at her, tracing a path from where she stood to where she was going.

Leyna activated her wall walk program and ran up the wall before vaulting backwards over the plasmatic energy. She threw a sticky bomb on the turret as she fell back towards the ground. She barely had time to duck behind the wall before the grenade went off, taking out the turret with a loud explosion. She continued down the hallway hastily. She scanned the ceiling for more turrets of death as she went, not wanting to be caught off guard again. So she was completely surprised when a magnetic zone took hold of her feet and tripped her, ensnaring the rest of her body as well. She yelled out in pain as the magnetic field messed with her sight functions, making things jump around in odd intervals. She saw a choppy image of another plasma turret being deployed, this one right above her. She cried out as she struggled now more than ever to get free. Then she heard an explosion. Feeling the magnet field dissipate, she quickly rolled out of the way to avoid being crushed by the smoldering cannon. She looked behind her and saw smug reploid standing with a buster cannon on his arm.

"So you've decided to jump the gun, Miss Zero?" Vice teased as he strode down the hallway. Leyna thought about spitting at him, but decided to head into the door at the end of the hall instead. Vice followed.

"Why are you following me?" She questioned accusingly.

"Following you? I'm here to find that damn elf. It _is_ the whole reason why we're here. But that's not why you came down here, right?" He inquired suspiciously. Her eyes went wide as the hammer hovered over the nail head.

"What're you talkin' about?" She asked innocently. Vice suddenly appeared in front of her.

"You're going to try and rescue your boyfriend. You aren't slick." He said in a chilling tone. Leyna went unfazed by it.

"Good. So, I trust you won't be in my way." She stated with a smile on her face. Vice sneered at her comment as she strode past him. He watched her with enmity as she ran into a doorway. Then a devilish idea crossed his mind. He went over to where the electronic lock for the door was and studied it for a bit. Then he fired a shot of plasma at it, frying the panel in the 'LOCKED' mode. He grinned to himself.

"Go ahead. Rescue that blonde haired loser. You can die in there with him while you're at it." Vice turned around and found out that he was under the watchful eye of Vern. Vice readied his weapon as he stood his ground.

"What the hell did you lock her in there for?" Vern screamed out. Vice smiled as he got ready to pull the trigger.

"Humph. I missed one." He pulled the trigger. Vern thought about Vice's strange words and why he had a weapon aimed at him for a moment before reality sunk in. He realized that he was still clad in the form he copied from an NT earlier. But it was too late to switch. He barely let out a gasp as the searing beam of energy passed through his chest, nailing his core. He flashed as his power core stopped functioning and reverted back into his original form. He fell backwards like a ragdoll, his head tilting to the side lazily.

Vice raised an eyebrow as he regarded the figure lying lifelessly on the ground. He walked over to a control console and stared at it for a bit. After playing around with it for a bit, a panel on the floor slid back. From the gap in the floor, a thin capsule containing a tiny life inside rose up. More identical capsules appeared a short moment later, lining the wall with a little more than twenty Cyber Elf containers.

"Jackpot." Vice muttered triumphantly to himself as he slammed an armored foot into a random container, smashing the fragile tube and releasing the tiny elf.

"Muu, mi..." The elf babbled as it floated around curiously. Vice swung an object at the tiny being, causing it to let out a high pitched cry. He closed the seal by pressing a button on the side of the energy tank, preventing the elf from escaping.

"I went through all this crap just for _you_?" Vice spoke to the small, curious elf. It looked at him through a transparent panel with large eyes. Vice scoffed as he clipped the container to his belt. "Well, this mission went to shit! I'm outta here." He exclaimed as he jogged to the end of the hallway. On the way out, he regarded the dead figure on the ground. He probed the reploid with his foot. Then realization set in.

"Vern...you're an idiot." He chuckled to himself as he started walking again. He stopped when he heard a familiar voice shouting through what could be a door. He laughed aloud as he rounded the corner. "And _you're_ an idiot, too, Mrs. Save my boyfriend! HA HA HAAH!"

As Vice ran through the chaos outside of the hallway, he failed to see the grievous look that Fenri Lunaedge was giving him.

"Cold hearted bastard..." The arctic wolf whispered before running into the room with the screaming door.

- - -

Weil looked on in pleasure at the monitor as the cold hearted reploid ran through the blood-stained and corpse-riddle halls. Then he turned to a reploid standing at his side.

"What do you think of this one? He shows no mercy for foe or ally."

"Yes. He would be a great addition to our cause. And he was foolish enough to steal one of our 'Control' elves, as well." The tall reploid responded. "I would say that this operation's gone off without a hitch."

"Yes. All of the key objectives have been fulfilled."

"Though one thing still bothers me. Zero's been re-abducted, and..."

"On the contrary. Look on this screen." Weil showed his cohort a screen with a set of specs. He gasped when he noticed an important detail:

ZERO  
STATUS- NOMIAL

ZERO II  
STATUS- ERROR

"There're two sets of data here! Completely identical for the most part. But...but..." He turned to look at Weil, speechless over this revelation.

"Correct. We still have the Original."

"But why use the Original, when a newer type of reploid would have more options for...wait. It's because the Original..." He trailed off, earning a wicked grin from the mad doctor.

"With the Original, we can ensure that Omega will have unlimited potential."

The reploid thought for a long time, pondering this new information. "So if Omega is going into the Original, why build the larger body?"

"We cannot be sure of Omega's potential resolve. We can't leave him in the Original for an extended period of time until we can be sure that he will do what I command of him. The larger body is meant to contain his power and analyze his potential. Think of it as a restraint." Weil resolved. The mysterious reploid nodded his head sagely as the rush of information made sense.

* * *

Arcadia- Inner City  
Time: 10:57 A.M.

Vice sprinted to the hover craft that carried them into the city. He grabbed the sidebar near the door and hopped onboard in one swift movement. He was beyond pissed at what he saw.

"You're late. **Commander**." Leyna spat the words like venom at him. He forced a smile as he stared at the violet haired huntress with a twitching eye. He sat down in his seat and leant back.

"Mission accomplished! Nice work." He said aloud. This earned him nothing but the sound of the hovercraft lifting off the ground. "Come on! This should be a time of celebration! We should--"

"You have no FUCKIN' idea about what happened, do you Vice!" Leyna lashed out violently as she stood up. He stared up smugly at her as he watched the tears well up in her eyes.

"We completed our mission: Retrieve the Cyber Elf." He said, pointing to his energy container. The little elf babbled. He flinched, something he rarely ever did, when Leyna punched a fist into the side of the craft. The force of the punch was so great that the transport shifted slightly.

"We started this mission with thirty-seven hunters. How many survived, Vice?" She asked rhetorically, her voice shaking. Vice glanced around.

"I thought a few bodies were missing..."

"There're seven of us left! _Seven_! It's all your fault! If we would have followed the original plan..." She broke down in tears. "Ross, Echo, Zero, Siege, Fenrir, myself and you. We're the sole survivors of this hellish mission!" She cried out. Vice broke his string of silence with a dismissive grunt. He looked over at the unconscious reploid lying on a makeshift bed.

"Well, the only way to get it right is to get it wrong. Those hunters that died were doin' their jobs. Plus, I count _six_ survivors. The blonde wacko over there looks about as dead as the other hunters."

Leyna's eyes snapped open and trained on him. Before anyone knew what would happen next, Leyna had tackled Vice to the ground and was mounted on top of him. In any normal situation, he would have gotten up easily, but that was impossible due to the cold knife pressed to his throat. Leyna stared at him with eyes burning with hellfire.

"You heartless son of a bitch...you tripped the alarm. Because of you, we were discovered! You went and killed Vern. _And you tried to kill me_. I'll never forgive you. _Never_." Leyna spoke with a frightening edge in her voice. Vice narrowed his gaze as he felt her lift the knife up and press the tip of it over a major artery in his neck. He looked at the rest of the hunters. They all looked at him without pity.

"If she did jam that knife in my throat, I bet all of you bastards would cover up for her." He spoke with rising anger in his voice. He smiled when they didn't answer. "But I don't have to worry about that. Do you know why?" He questioned the reploid holding him down with a knife. "Because you don't have what it takes to kill a fellow Hunter, no matter how much of a 'heartless son of a bitch' they might be. But I bet Zero wouldn't have any qualms about burying that knife."

"SHUT UP!" She shouted through gritted teeth as she raised the knife a few inches above his exposed throat.

"There ya go! You're halfway there! Now all you gotta do is drive it in. Come on, do it! Do it!" He goaded her. She was shaking from the strain of her emotional mind. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she stared at him with eyes that could burn a hole through the sun.

She hated him. She wanted to kill him, but she couldn't. Things remained silent for the rest of the trip. Only when Echo and Siege pulled her off of the unit commander did things return to normal silence.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Yay for updates! And reviews! Not too much to say here, since my brain is now putty. I should probably go sleep now. (Looks at the clock.) I can't read that...I should go now. (Passes out.) Oh, almost forgot! Archaon gets DOUBLE POINTS for figuring out the subliminal (not really) messages. There were actually 2, when I said there was 1. Anyway, um, please review! Thanks to all of my reviewers so far!

Till Next Time!


	11. Chapter 10: Trial and Error

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

* * *

**Chapter 10: Trial and Error**

_I'm not exactly sure what happened but after the battle when the Golem was introduced, the New Type Army suddenly pulled back, giving the Maverick Hunters time to regroup and take a deep breath. A much needed breath. Zero had been recovered and a Cyber Elf retrieved. But the costs of the infiltration were too high. Overall, with the deaths of those on the front line and those inside the city, the Hunters lost thirty percent of their numbers. The New Type Army was growing stronger every day._

_Two days after the costly retrieval mission..._

MHHQ- Assembly Hall  
Time: 2:10 P.M.  
Date: 6-20-22XX

Signas sat erectly in his chair as the many hunters around the room chatted loudly. He took a drink from his can of fruit juice as set it back down next to his gavel. He looked over the reports from the mission, adding random numbers and reflecting on the info on the sheets. He grimaced many times as he passed over the paragraphs on the first packet of papers.

"How anyone could do did is beyond me." He tossed the reports back on the desk. The speaker on his right side bleeped. He depressed a button and spoke into it. "Yes?"

"_Sir, the detainees are here._" A gruff voice spoke. He could hear random screaming and shouting on the other side.

"I take it that they aren't too happy, either." Signas stated as he heard a string of curses.

"_No sir. Well, at least _he_ isn't happy._" The voice grunted back. Signas sighed.

"Okay. Bring them in." He said, as he banged his gavel a few times, earning silence from the loud audience. A moment later, the doors on the wall across the large assembly flew open, revealing a protesting reploid in restraints. He thrashed about, yelling for the reploid holding him to let him go. Then he screamed loudly as a stun stick was jammed into his side. He was then dragged to a stand where a negative energy field set up around him. Then a second reploid in wrist cuffs was brought in. She calmly stepped up to her stand after her escort released her cuffs. Signas cleared his throat as he tapped his gavel once.

"All rise!" A reploid shouted out.

"The court martial of Vice Codecu and the court martial of Leyna Strider are now commencing." He introduced after the detainees were situated.

"I will now introduce to the audience the violations of Vice Codecu: one 1st Degree count of 'Acting Outside of Commandant's Jurisdiction' during wartime and two counts of 'Termination of Subordinates Without Reason', one 2nd Degree and one 1st Degree. I will now introduce to the audience the violations of Leyna Strider: one count of 'Acting Outside of Unit Commander's Jurisdiction' during wartime. This is a 3rd Degree offense. We will start with the highest offense case, which would be Vice Codec." Signas stated. The lights in the vast room dimmed before a couple of spotlights shone on the volatile reploid, the docile huntress and Signas.

"So, Vice, what do you have to say about your situation?" Rapid typing could be heard in the silence after Signas' question. Vice answered, though he wasn't too quick to respond.

"I'm gonna give you the same answer I did when I was thrown into holding, so why even bother to ask again?"

"Because the rest of the Hunters need to know what's going on."

"Fine. I don't give a shit about what you all think of the situation. I don't give a shit if you think I was wrong in choosing a straightforward path to get that stupid little elf. I don't give a shit if you think that I purposely killed a couple of hunters. Accidents happen. _Shit_ happens." He said with agitation in his voice. After his statement, the room quickly filled with commotion. Signas banged his gavel to restore order.

"With that said, I will go over your violations in depth. On the count of deviating from the mission plan, you've not only disobeyed a direct order from me, but you've put your entire team in jeopardy. There were--"

"Thirty-seven frickin hunters to start out with and only seven return; I heard it all from Miss Drama over there." He pointed at Leyna with both cuffed hands. She didn't do so much as look over in his direction. He noticed that she was cuff free.

"And there is the matter of--"

"Wait a damn minute!" He exploded. "She doesn't have any cuffs on. Why do I still have them on!"

"Because she isn't as big a threat as you are, Vice. You _did_ execute two members of your own team." Signas returned calmly.

"Forget about that! That bitch is more lethal than you think! She tried to kill me on the way back!" He retaliated. Signas looked over at the remainder of the squad that infiltrated Arcadia. Vice and Leyna did the same.

"Did any of you bear witness to his claim?" Echo moved her eyes over from Vice to Leyna, who gave her a calm look that said, "Do what you have to do." She cleared her throat.

"Sir..." She eyed Leyna once more, reading the same expression as before. She caught a glimpse of Vice out of the corner of her eye. "...we did not bear witness to his claim." She answered before looking over at Leyna, seeing a smile crawl up on her face.

"Do you all agree with this statement?" Signas questioned.

"Yes sir." The other five answered simultaneously.

"Very well then. Thank you. With that said, your segment has concluded Vice." Said reploid sat there silently, not giving any type of reaction. "Now we move on to the case of Leyna Strider." The spotlight moved to Leyna's booth. "Leyna Strider has also deviated from the orders given to her. Though she acted against the orders from the Unit Commander, she was successful in leading a small group in rescuing one of our captured Hunters." Vice started out liking where this was going, but then developed a sinful snarl.

"And, well, that's all she's being charged for. Now, for the penalties of Vice Codecu: Vice Codec is to be withdrawn from the 0th Unit. In addition to that, he is to be detained without pay until further notice and to be demoted two ranks to the rank of 2nd LT." The reploid in question waited eagerly for the High Commander to finish.

"For the penalties of Leyna Strider: Leyna Strider is to be relieved of her position as a Hunter for three weeks with suspended pay." He stated simply. Vice snickered loudly at the combination of hearing her punishment and seeing her smile.

"What? That's it? _That's all that's gonna happen to her?_" He asked loudly. Signas gave him an obvious nod. This poured gasoline onto a growing flame.

"THAT'S FUCKIN' BULLSHIT!" This outburst earned him a loud, unanimous gasp from the audience. He then slammed his fists on the booth he was in, smashing and crushing the metal stand with and electrical discharge. The lights in the hall lit back up as Signas gestured for security to restrain the angry reploid.

"This adjourns the court martial of Vice Codecu and Leyna Strider. Dismissed." He banged the gavel once more before placing the head of it into a small opening. It lowered into the surface of the table and a panel slid over the opening. Signas snapped his head up when he heard multiple screams.

Vice had broken free from the guard holding him. He slammed his fists into the face of a guard that was approaching him. Then two guards came at him with stun sticks. At the exact moment when they struck, he extended both arms and directed the clubs into the opposite wielder. He snarled wickedly as he realized that his wrists were free. He turned his gaze to Leyna, who looked at him with wide eyes. He dashed at her with unreal speed and tackled her to the ground. The Assembly Hall was in an uproar; total chaos. He wrapped his hand around her neck, pinning her to the ground effectively.

"I should kill you. But I gotta take care of someone else first." He remarked loud enough for her to hear. She looked at him as she struggled to loosen his grip on her neck. He turned his gaze to the crowded section of the hall. She followed his gaze and gasped.

"Echo? No!" Within a split second he jumped off of her and dashed after his target, dodging guards and various reploids along the way. Echo couldn't do so much as blink as she watched the enraged reploid move with unreal speed. As he neared her, he pulled his fist back, ready to knock her head clean off her shoulders.

"RAAGGGH!" He screamed as he felt a wave of pain surge through his body. He was suddenly thrown back into a nearby wall after the shock dissipated. He looked up to see Megaman X running at him with a dimly lit buster cannon. Vice growled loudly as his eyes whited out and started to glow with a deathly aura.

"Vice! Control yourself!" X shouted in an attempt to reach out to the furious reploid. He might as well have stuck his hand in a bear trap.

"Shut UP! X! I'll kill YOU!" X readied his cannon for another shot and fired. Vice grabbed a nearby hunter and used him as a shield, blocking the shot. X swore under his breath as Vice tossed the unconscious reploid at the famed hunter. X ducked under the body, only to be knocked to the ground with a limb that belonged to the body thrown at him. Vice stomped on X's buster and twisted his foot as the blue bomber writhed in pain.

"X, you're going soft on me again! But this time is different: I'm not distracted by cheap human emotions!" He barked out before snapping his head toward the entrance. He spotted Echo and Leyna running down the hall for safety. He immediately took off after them, gaining ground fast. They rounded a corner. He jumped to the wall while running and pushed himself off the wall when he cleared the corner.

Then he felt painful confusion as he ran into something that flipped his body backwards. He hit the ground hard and stood up sorely, that last blow doing more than a little bit of damage.

"No running in the hallways." Said a teasing voice. Vice growled at that voice. If it was at all possible, he hated this particular reploid more than anything. He wasted no time in throwing a forceful punch at Zero's face. Zero stumbled to the left, avoiding the punch completely. He then halfheartedly stepped back to dodge a blurry kick, which caused him to fall backwards, making him dodge a wild punch. As he put his hands behind him in reaction to the fall, he accidentally swept Vice off his feet. As Zero stood up, he once again tripped over his own heels, causing him to dodge a mess of attacks. Then he threw what seemed to be a random punch that connected with Vice's jaw, knocking him out on contact. The blond haired hunter leant up against the wall, breathing heavily. He watched as X and a few other reploids came sprinting down the hall.

"It's okay now, girls. You can come out." He spoke towards the entrance to a room. Sure enough, Leyna and Echo stepped out from around the corner, eying the reploid that lie unconscious on the ground.

A few security reploids knelt down and shackled cuffs on Vice's feet and wrist. Then they unrolled a grated metal roll and wrapped him up in it, then finished up by clasping a few dozen heavy duty locks on it. X sighed as he walked briskly over in Zero's direction. Zero pushed himself off the wall and grinned widely.

"Hey bud! You..."

"Leyna! Are you okay?" The black haired reploid rushed past the reploid in a hospital gown.

"Yea...I'm fine. He was going to go after Echo."

"...Miss me?" Zero finished.

"Why did he go after her?" Leyna looked at him for a second. X eyed her back. Then he realized what she was implicating. "So," He leant closer to her ear. "(You _did_ try to kill him, then. And Echo witnessed it.)" He stated in a whisper. She gave him a small nod.

"It wasn't just me either. The rest of the squad saw it as well." Echo added, looking down the hall as Signas and the security guards were hauling the vile reploid to the brig sector. X regarded her incredulously.

"I'm sorry X, but the bastard had it coming to him. If I get another chance...I'll kill him." Leyna stated coldly. A lengthy period of silence then ensued.

"Leyna...I would have done the same thing. As a matter of fact I **will** kill him if I see him again." All three reploids turned to regard the one standing behind them. Then they simultaneously tackled him to the ground with joyous rapture.

* * *

Cain Laboratories  
Time: 4:59 P.M.

Harold Cain waited in a secluded room deep within the world renowned reploid production company. He thumbed through numerous data disks, not find what he was looking for. Growing bored and impatient, he leant back in his chair, mildly enjoying the creaking sound it made. Then out of the blue, he started talking to himself.

"So, seems like production is nominal. It's really too bad that we lost an energen mine. But at least still have three others." He let out a yawn as his eyes fell on the clock sitting on his desk. A beam of bright light fell from the ceiling as soon as the time device clicked to 5:00 P.M. Harold shielded his eyes from the blinding light. He thought to himself how glad he was that they were in a room with no windows as the light subsided, revealing a tall figure. Harold smirked as he said, "You're late, Scar."

**To be continued...**

* * *

Hmm...not too much to say about this chapter. Well, except for PLEASE REVIEW! Ha ha, but seriously, if you like the story (or if you don't like it) then let me know. That not only applies to me, but to every other writer on as well. Well, my time is up!

Till Next Time!


	12. Chapter 11: The Broken Warrior

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Broken Warrior**

Arcadia- City Core  
Time: 8:33 A.M.  
Date: 6-22-22XX

Rayne sat with her legs crossed in a chair, her head supported by her arm that was against the table. She eyed Surebrec as he strode past her, winking as he did so. She let her eyes fall back to the same spot on the floor when he was gone. She kept from smiling as she continued to covertly listen to the report Scar made from his visit with Mr. Cain.

"..._and that's it. If all goes well, the Hunters should be able to build a Golem of their own. Gotta go, Weil's about to make another announcement_." Scar's voice spoke in her ear before cutting out.

"Good. Now it's my turn." She said as she set a small device underneath the chair she was sitting in. She returned to a natural position then warped away, leaving only a realistic dummy hologram in her seat.

* * *

MHHQ- Holding Cell  
Time: 10:30 A.M.  
Date: 6-22-22XX

Vice sat against the wall of his cell. He just stared through the wall of energy that separated him from the rest of the world. He kept thinking about how he would be dealt with. Would they put him in front of a firing squad? No, that wouldn't happen. That was a form of execution that humans used. Humans.

"How I hate them." He began talking to himself. "The poison of this planet. Heh heh..."

"Hey, what're you talkin' about in there?" A jailor asked in an overly enthused voice. Vice looked up at her with piercing eyes.

"I said 'I hate humans'. They disgust me. They smell horrible. They make me sick." He deadpanned. The jailor gasped.

"...but, why? Why hate the humans when you're a Maverick Hunter?"

"You think I want to be here? Kid, I'd rather be..." He caught himself before he could finish that sentence and changed it. "...dead."

"So why are you here?" Vice growled at the all too similar question.

"That's none of your business. But if I ever get a chance to get out of here..."

"That's not gonna happen, Vice." The reploid in question looked up at the source of the new voice.

"How nice of you to visit, _Commander_. Through waking up I see?"

"Even though you're a captive, you still have a smart-ass attitude." Zero retorted.

"Who do you think I got it from, _Commander_?"

"Oh, and I brought a couple of friends." Zero said, ignoring the crazy reploid's reply. Vice watched as X and Signas walked in the outside door and stood beside the cell window. X motioned for the jailor to take a break, which she was all too happy to oblige to.

"Vice, what happened?" Signas started. Vice let out a long sigh.

"Don't you ever get tired of asking the same question? You already heard my story twice, but you refuse to believe it."

"But **I** still need an explanation." Zero stepped in, his voice chillingly calm. He tapped on a panel outside the cell a few times, opening the window. He strode in and stared down the criminal while letting the window close again, this time forming an opaque sound proof wall.

"What is it, ma'am?" Vice taunted. Zero seemed to ignore him as he crossed his arms.

"What happened to my unit? I wanna know what the hell you did to have them killed." Vice smirked.

"Now that's a new question. I didn't have them 'killed'. They died doing their jobs."

"Is that so? Then what's this I hear about you pushing one of my men into a laser field?"

"Ha hah! Pushed him? No, I simply told him about the obstruction and he decided to test it. I figured it was a lethal laser when he fell into it whole and ended up in three chunks."

No sooner then he had uttered those words, he was jerked up into the air by his collar. He stared at an angry fist that was visibly shaking. Zero breathed irregularly through clenched teeth.

"This is the _second_ time that I've had my unit decimated by one of my own. I should kill you..." Zero growled as he tightened the grip on Vice's shirt. The suspended Hunter smirked at his statement.

"So what's stopping you? You never gave so much as a fraction of a thought about killing any other Mavericks. And, since I'm technically a Maverick, the decision should be simple, no?" Vice smirked as the angry fist now quaked. He continued smirking as he felt his back slam into the wall. Zero screamed as he threw a straight punch.

- - -

X twitched a bit when the wall shook. He looked over at Signas with a mild look of concern. He was about to say something when the cell window disappeared. Zero walked out of the now darkened area with angry strides. He made his way towards the exit but stopped when he passed Signas slightly. The High Commander looked down when he heard something wet hit the floor by his foot. Blood.

The dripping trail went up to the tall reploid's hand, which was stained red with the artificial life fluid. He opened his mouth and said these words without a hint of emotion.

"Signas...this is all your fault." And with that Zero stormed out of the holding area. Moments passed before either X or Signas could process what just happened.

"Humph. He spared me. _Again_." A disappointed voice spoke from the darkness. X and Signas peered in the dark cell to see Vice leaning against a wall with a deep hole in it. The hole was stained red in spots. Signas cursed under his breath as he made his way out the door.

* * *

MHHQ- Navigation Sector  
Time: 3:12 P.M.  
Date: 6-22-22XX

Alia studied the battle data intensely as she processed the shear power of the Golem. No matter how many times she went over the information, things didn't add up. She watched as nearly all of the weaponry used against it, from high energy plasma rounds to EMP grenades, had absolutely no effect. Even X's arm cannon wasn't able to do so much as dent it. She let her face sink into her hands as her head began to throb.

"There isn't a single cyber elf alive that we could use to make that thing more susceptible to our weapons! I've tried and tried harder to find the most up-to-date tech, but to no avail! Even the nerds over at Cain Laboratories can' produce a solution to this most baffling..."

"Douglass! You're giving me a headache with your chatter!" She complained fruitlessly. Her headset had broken during an accident with Zero earlier in the day, and she was unlucky enough to have received a call from Douglass just as it happened.

"Please...PLEASE turn off your headset!" She nearly wailed, knowing well enough that he wouldn't be able to hear her. She sighed in anguish and placed her head into her folded arms on the desk.

"Why not just take it off?" A high-pitched voice emanated from behind the distraught navigator. She gave an even bigger sigh.

"Palette, as you should know, navigators, especially top ranked navigators, are to keep all equipment on their person in case of an emergency." Alia stated matter-of-factly. Then she looked at the newbie navigator and frowned. "Which means if we were having a crisis right now, you wouldn't know about it firsthand like all the others." She raised an eyebrow as Palette got the message. The green sleeve attached her headset and smiled foolishly before gasping. Alia also gasped as she heard Douglass shout suddenly, breaking away from his mind-shattering chatter.

"Lock down the engineering sector and send a security team down there to investigate immediately!" She shouted at the navigator directly behind her. The surprised man hastily complied, thanking his luck that Alia didn't notice the digital radio was where his headset should be.

* * *

MHHQ-Engineering Sector  
Time: 3:14 P.M.

"Who are you?" Douglass yelped out as an unwelcome figure crept forward, disabling the reploids in the vicinity. Out of fear, the weapons researcher grabbed the nearest weapon from the pile closest to him and hurled it at the intruder. The reploid stopped suddenly and dashed over the flying object, landing just short of the frightened reploid. Douglass fell over backwards onto the pile of mishaps he developed over the years.

"Here." The cloaked figure said while extending a hand with something in it.

"Wha...what is this?" He inquired, thinking that the object looked like a disk. She knelt down to eyelevel with him.

"Despite what you might think, I'm here to help." She almost whispered, noticing his eyes shifting from hers to something behind her. Then instincts took over. She threw her cloak off her shoulders towards the door behind her, revealing her face for only a split second before snapping her fingers and vanishing. Douglass looked around the room before letting his eyes fall on the disk in his lap.

"Golem-dat?"

**To be continued...**

* * *

Whew! Took forever, but it's finally here. Lots of stuff happened from the time the previous chapter was updated to now, including, but not limited to drill competitions, getting a job, having a girlfriend and school. Updates will gradually get faster as time goes on, but I hope this chapter will wet your fanfiction palette a little bit. Summer's just started, and this story is floating around in my mind! It will never die!

Till Next Time!


	13. Chapter 12: Surprises

**Megaman X: Final Prologue**

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

* * *

**Chapter 12: Surprises**

Cain Laboratories  
Time: 5:19 A.M.  
Date: 6-24-22XX

Harold sipped calmly on his coffee as he listened to a deep voice speak unrelenting inquiries through his phone.

"_Are you one-hundred percent positive that you don't know what is on that data file_?"

"Yes."

"_And you don't know who decided to break in and literally hand it to our chief engineer_?"

"No, I don't know. You said that your cameras caught a symbol or something?"

"_Yes, it was the insignia of Dr. Weil_."

"So, wouldn't you think that Weil..."

"_Sent an agent over here? That's why I'm asking you if you know what is on this disk. If there's some kind of bomb planted that will blow up if you stick it in a computer, or something_."

"No, nothing of that sort. Oh, look at time! I have a very important meeting to attend. Good day, Mr. Signas."

"_Harold! Wait a...hello? Hello_?"

Harold hung the phone up and downed the rest of his coffee. He looked out of the one way wall towards MHHQ and sighed.

"Well, at least I really do have a meeting."

* * *

MHHQ - Training Hall  
Time: 5:20 A.M.

Ixion threw a fast fist at one of her squad members, connecting it with his jaw. Due to the laws of physics, he went hurdling into the wall behind him. The 16th Unit Commander shook her head with regret.

"(_Great. Now he'll probably end up leaving too_.)" She thought as she walked over to the stunned hunter, masking her emotions with a chiding laugh. In the center of the hall stood a group of about seven reploids. Facing them about six feet away was a smaller group of three. The one in the center of the trio spoke loudly.

"Welcome! You all are here because you have or want three things:" He started.

"One: The desire to protect those close to you."

"Two: The courage to defeat the mightiest of foes."

"And, Three: The freedom to do whatever the hell you want, as long as I approve of it!" He said the last phrase with quite the opposite seriousness as the first two. The two hunters at his side snickered at his choice of words. The seven newbies, however, didn't move an inch. Zero frowned.

"But!" He started. "In order to obtain those objectives, you gotta have two things: Balls and a sense of humor." Everybody gave the same reactions. Zero growled as he drew a hand buster and shot the soil at the nervous group's feet. Several very nervous rookies let out several very nervous laughs. The crimson demon smiled as Leyna and Echo shook their heads. "That's one test down. Sense of humor, check!"

"Tch. What a joke." A less than impressed rookie bantered. The three veterans looked in his direction.

"Yes! That was the point of shooting at the ground: To make you laugh!" Zero said calmly as he strode over to the less than enthusiastic rook. "Hence, it was a joke." The rookies around him kept laughing with quivers as Zero approached the bold newbie.

"Not that. _You_." The rookie spoke fiercely, clarifying his point. "I think you're a joke. A commander that jokes around during a war? That spells disaster to me." Zero gave the rookie a foreboding stare that did nothing to phase him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

"Think you can take down a joke?" The entire room went silent. The rookie wasted no time with his reply.

"No. I don't think I can." Dead silence lingered in the air for a while. Zero gave him a dismissive 'hmmph' before turning around and walking towards where he was standing before. The rookie dropped his rifle and drew a beam knife.

"I **know** I can!!" He cried as he darted towards Zero at full pelt. He swiped the knife at the blond haired devil and felt a sharp pain creep into his ribs. Then the ground spun around as he ended up on his back. He felt a warm sensation on his neck, noticing that Zero had turned the tables, quite literally, and had the rookie's own knife pressed up against his throat. Many gasps ensued.

"You have balls, kid! But don't let it hinder your judgement. Approaching an opponent from behind is a gamble. You have to take into consideration the enemy's level of awareness. If you were an enemy, all I would have to kill you is flick my wrist." Zero stated calmly, hoping the six other rookies would learn something from the downed green sleeve's blunder.

"So why didn't you do it before?" The rookie blurted out. He thrashed about suddenly, causing Zero to remove the knife, getting it knocked away from him in the process. The daring rookie threw a fast punch and stunned the surprised hunter. He managed to get behind Zero and trip him up, dislocating his arm in the process.

"You should have taken into consideration my level of skill, Mr. Hotshot." The rook teased triumphantly.

Zero smiled before leaning forward and tossing the rook over his shoulders. The rookie hit the ground with a thud as he landed on his back, distorting his balance mechanics. He was about to get up before a green, searing hot blade of plasma made sure he stayed put. He grunted in defeat.

"I did, kid. But skill means nothing when your reckless attitude takes over." Zero said as he popped his arm back into place, making the other rookies flinch and retch.

"But! You are the first rookie that's challenged me today. Now, who's next?" Zero said, eyeing the now panic-stricken squad of newcomers. One of them fell over from a fear overload.

"Just kidding guys! Just kidding! We really need to work on that sense of humor!" He trailed off, leaving Vice on the ground to gather his resolve.

"(..._Goddamn it. I hate that fricken' reploid_!)" He thought to himself as he stood up and walked out of the training area.

* * *

"I HATE THAT FRICKEN REPLOID!" He shouted as his nightmare came to an abrupt end. He looked around in confusion as he took in his surroundings. No open air filled with lush artificial plants. No squad of rookies shaking in their boots. Only a plain, thick walled room. He shook his head as he thought about his dream; His first day as a Maverick Hunter.

"...What a joke..." He muttered as he fell back asleep.

* * *

Medical Sector  
Time: 5:21

"Kicker, I'm FINE."

"That's the problem. You should have slight irritation in that shoulder, yet my screen shows nothing."

Zero sat uncomfortably on the table with his left arm inserted into a threatening looking machine. Kicker frowned at the readings he was getting while Zero frowned at the situation he was in. He looked around the room in boredom and gave the large device around his arm a glance each time it clicked. He then glanced at the table in the far corner of the room with a stationary reploid laid out on it.

"...Still no response from the kid?" Zero asked, this time ignoring the clicking the machine made.

"Unfortunately, no. He's stable, in good condition injury wise, but still unconscious. There's something else wrong with him."

"Like what?"

"I don't know." Kicker said as he pressed a button, releasing the housing around the red demon's arm.

"Does it have something to do with that illumination from his helmet?" Kicker looked up with a stone face. Zero sensed that something was off.

"What?"

"Follow me." Zero hopped off the table stylishly and followed the doctor over to Axl's table. He bumped into Kicker when he stopped suddenly.

"Zero." He said solemnly.

"What?"

"You **cannot** let anyone know what you're about to see."

"No one?"

"**_No one_**." He gave Zero a firm look. Said reploid merely shook his head in collusion. Kicker pulled back the curtain, revealing the sleeping young hunter. Zero's eyes widened several times at the sight. He turned to Kicker.

"Kick, who else knows about this?"

"You, me, and Echo."

"Not Signas? Or X?" Kicker shook his head. Zero turned and left.

"Zero!"

"Not a soul, right? Don't worry, Kick." Kicker nodded as he looked at the sleeping reploid and closed the curtains.

* * *

_Months later, the Maverick Hunters found themselves at a stalemate with Weil's forces. Neither side was able to gain momentum for five long months. The development and completion of the powerful Golem unit helped the Hunters stay on their feet for a while. But…a problem was brought to their attention. The Golems, while powerful, are very expensive to mass produce. While the material is not hard to come by, the energy that fuels them is rather scarce._

MHHQ - Navigation Sector  
Time: 8:23 A.M.  
Date: 11-20-22XX

"All right, Team 7, come on home." Layer stated as the dispatch team disconnected. Alia spun around in her chair, hoping for positive results, but her hope was shot down when Layer shook her head.

"Damn it. This is hopeless!" Dirk nearly screamed. "We've been searching for three months, with only minimal results. Whatever happened to using plain old gasoline?"

"That stuff dried up ages ago. Besides, energen crystals are much more effective and are better for the environment." Palette stated, flexing her mechanical wit. Dirk batted a hand in the air as he spun back around, feeling sorry that he said anything at all.

Alia sighed heavily. Her mental state of being was contorted in all ways possible. X hadn't contacted HQ in a month. He was leading a small search team in the upper regions of Neo Africa, various parts of Neo Russia and half of the Red Sea. She kept telling herself not to worry, but her mother-like instinct was on full alert. She nearly screamed at the hand that plopped down on her shoulder.

"Whoa. Sorry, Alia Any word from X and his team yet?" Zero's well-known voice said. Though he sounded calm, Alia could tell that X's absence was bothering him as well.

"So, you miss him too?"

"Miss him? Not a chance! I get tired of looking after both my unit and his. Figured he'd be back by now." Zero grinned in an attempt to raise the navigator's spirit. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw her nearly fall out of her chair. The screen she had been glued to for the last few days showed that a transfer was coming in. Alia ran over to the warp pad, ready to pounce on her boyfriend. Normally she would smother X, almost knocking both of them back into the warp. That was not the case this time around.

Instead of X, what greeted her was a round object with different colored orbs imbedded in it. Before she had time to shout out what it was, the bomb exploded.

* * *

"???"  
Time: N/A 

"Well, how do things look?" A blue entity questioned. The second being shook his head.

"Not too well. If they continue on like this, we'll have to start all over. The best we can do is awaken the sleeper." He stated dourly.

"Are you sure? His abilities are sporadic. There's a chance of reality ripping at the seams."

"That's a chance we'll have to take." The blue entity pondered the red's gamble for a while before forming her answer.

"Sigh. Okay. Let's go."

**To be continued...**

* * *

Wow. How long has it been? Too long for my liking. If there are still any readers out there reading this fanfic, please review. Many, many events going on in my life. I'm starting college in about a month's time, so the updates might get even longer in length. I still plan on completing this story, seeing as how you've only read roughly 10-15 percent of it. I've been brainstorming while away. Anyway, that's all for now!

Till Next Time!


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